Biotech Updates

Adoption and Uptake Pathways of Biotech Crops in the Philippines

April 20, 2012

Peer and kinship systems facilitate the adoption and uptake pathways of biotech corn in some provinces of the Philippines, that is according to the researchers at the University of the Philippines Los Baños. They conducted a survey in 2011 to analyze how biotech corn farmers started to adopt the technology and to understand the role of communication in the farmers' decision to adopt and share information about the crop.

Dr. Cleofe Torres and colleagues noted the changes in the lives of farmers after adoption which include increase in yield and income. Seed technicians played a significant role in the adoption process by convincing farmers to plant biotech crops. The traders, on the other hand, provided the capital for farmers to purchase seeds and other farm inputs. The biotech corn farmers signified their interest to continue planting the crop, and they are also anticipating the commercial release other Bt crops like Bt eggplant.

A monograph based on the study Adoption Pathways of Biotechnology Crops: The Case of Biotech Corn Farmers in Selected Provinces of Luzon, Philippines was published by College of Development Communication, UP Los Baños (CDC-UPLB), International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), and the Southeast Asia Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). Download a copy for free at http://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/adoptation_and_uptake_pathways_of_bioech_crops/download/.