Philippines to Learn from Indian Bt Cotton Experience

The Philippines may yet to learn from India's experience in managing Bt cotton and thus boost the farm sector through agricultural biotechnology, said the country’s Department of Agriculture. India’s agricultural biotechnology has emerged as one of the fastest growing in the entire world in recent years, and a report by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) attributes this to the cultivation of Bt cotton. Agricultural biotechnology in India has become the third largest contributor among various biotech sectors, with total revenues of more than $229 million in 2006-2007, which meant a growth of 55 percent, the USDA said. This increase should encourage Filipino farmers to adopt modern biotech applications.

Efforts are being made in the Philippines. A number of Filipino biotech experts nurtured the commercialization of Bt corn more than four years ago in the belief that it would boost the country's production and trigger an agri-biotech revolution. In addition, a number of biotech products like papaya and eggplant are in the pipeline and waiting for commercial release. Biotech advocates in the Philippines said that the only way to compete in agricultural trade and level the playing field is through agricultural modernization. The Department said that current advances in biotechnology, aided significantly by international networks, should promote technology transfer and speed up commercialization in the country.

Read more at http://www.da.gov.ph/