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DR. ARNOLD
Estrada, the country head of Monsanto Philippines Inc.,
offers no excuses. The company simply cannot cope these
days with the sudden surge in the farmers’ demand for
genetically modified (GM) corn seeds—once very
controversial, but now steadily gaining serious attention
as the heat of the debate cools down to more sober
discussions of why improved plant strains are a
substantive contributor to efforts to ease the food
crisis.
To recall,
Monsanto was the target of protests by environmental
groups when it first introduced Bacillus thuringiensis
(Bt) corn in the country in 2002. The company was tagged
as the source of the dreaded “Frankenfood,” as what cynics
called GM food products. By then, however, consumers had
started enjoying eating, among others, potato chips,
french fries and even soya-based delicacies, most of which
could easily be certified as “GMO-based.”
After a
jittery start of less than 10,000 hectares planted to Bt
corn in 2003, GM corn has suddenly mushroomed all over the
country, with about 300,000 hectares planted, not only
with the old Bt corn, but also with the new GM round-up
ready and stacked varieties. That is based on the data of
the Department of Agriculture (DA), which say that about 1
million hectares are planted with yellow corn, which is
basically for feed and industrial use.
The
problem now is that Monsanto, along with its fellow
multinational agricultural giants Pioneer and Syngenta,
have difficulty coping with the demand for GM yellow corn
seeds to help augment the estimated 800,000 metric tons
gap between grain production and the requirement for
yellow corn, particularly for feeds.
“In the
previous years we’ve seen [its] growth, but we didn’t
expect that there would be an upsurge in demand,” admits
Estrada, a plant pathologist. “Maybe we have misread the
demand for the product.”
But,
having realized the real demand, why couldn’t they remedy
the situation?
Estrada
explains: “We need to inform the seed production team a
year-and-a-half in advance of what we intend to sell a
year-and-a-half from today.”
He quickly
points out that they have been projecting the market
demand yearly, but “the demand now was just so great.”
True, only
the
Philippines
has openly embraced the commercial growing of GM corn in
the region, but rising food prices have prompted its
neighbors to finally look at it as an option for
commercial farming.
A Japanese
ministry official was even quoted as saying that, “given
the expansion in the cultivation of GM products abroad and
rising demand for food, we are reviewing ways to have the
option of commercial farming in the future.” Japan does
not ban GM farming, but its strict regulation has
discouraged corporate investment in the area.
According
to the International Service for the Acquisition of
Biotech Applications, it was in 2007 that the accumulated
number of farmer decisions to adopt biotech crops exceeded
50 million. The number of countries planting biotech crops
by then had increased to 23—these are the Philippines, 11
other developing countries, and 11 industrial countries.
Technology
does it
According
to Estrada, as more and more farmers shift from
traditional varieties to GM corn, they are realizing the
value that this technology has given. “It’s trying it and
seeing it, and really experiencing the benefits and value
that the technology brings. I think that’s what brings the
adoption.”
For
instance, Bt corn, which Monsanto commercially distributes
as “YieldGard,” is resistant to the dreaded Asian corn
borer (ACB), which continues to be a major concern in the
country. Rather than spraying insecticides, which exposes
them to dangerous chemicals, farmers can rely on Bt corn’s
built-in tolerance for corn borer.
“If you
see this from the farmer’s angle, this is something that
would help you get more yields,” Estrada points out.
This is
also what makes him passionate about the work he is doing
for the US-based Monsanto, a leading provider of
agricultural solutions to growers worldwide, but which
became a household name with its production of GMOs.
“In
addition to having a job, it’s a kind of job that gives
you a level of satisfaction,” he says. “If I go to the
field and talk to the farmers who say, ‘Napalitan ko
’yung bubong ko. Nakabili ako ng sapatos kay Junior
kasi kumita ako ng extra [I was able to replace my
roof, I bought shoes for my son because I earned extra],’
that’s very, very satisfying. That’s why I always make it
a point to talk to farmers.”
Estrada,
in fact, never had second thoughts about venturing into
agriculture. His father Benny was a plant pathologist at
the International Rice Research Institute (Irri), and this
exposed him to the field, having been educated in Los
Baños since his elementary days until he finished his
graduate studies in plant pathology at the University of
the Philippines in Los Baños (UPLB).
Estrada,
who later pursued doctorate studies in microbiology at the
University of Canterbury in England, says he didn’t even
regret being identified with Monsanto.
“My
background in science has helped me understand the
technologies that we were developing. I’m able to
communicate that with employees who are stakeholders here.
Some experience in the field of science helps in
appreciating technologies.”
Getting it
done
For
Estrada, the
Philippines
can make a difference in modern corn production, adding
that the technology being offered by GM corn is “the same
technology that the United States is offering.”
He
believes that technology is only one of the three key
issues that need to be addressed to attain
self-sufficiency in corn. There is the land use and the
need to provide adequate postharvest facilities.
In land
area, the past two years showed an increase in the area
planted to corn. Compared with rice, corn grows during the
dry season even without irrigation.
But
unfortunately, the Philippines does not have the luxury of
increasing the area for corn production. And this is where
technology comes in. For instance, the likes of the
“roundup-ready corn” would be applicable to the farmers’
needs.
“If you
plant a variety that gives you three to four tons, a
hybrid can double that. In a way, just shifting from a
variety to a hybrid can give that opportunity to increase
your yield on a per unit area,” he says,
Biotech
corn provides higher yield, considering it was designed to
address several stresses, including the problem of corn
borers and weeds. Without any stress, Estrada says a
farmer can yield as much as 10 tons per hectare.
According
to Estrada, there is really a need to improve the
postharvest aspect, which “is sometimes being overlooked.”
“You can
see farmers drying corn on the roads. Before long, this
will rot easily so [there’s] a lot of wastage,” he says.
At least 10 percent to 15 percent of corn produced goes to
waste after harvest simply because of inadequacy in the
drying process.
Basically,
Estrada says that seed companies like Monsanto are
introducing the same germplasm that they use in other
countries. Of course, he says, the situation in the
Philippines
cannot be compared with that of the United States,
Argentina and Brazil, which have higher yields per unit
area.
“One thing
that needs to be factored-in in the yield of corn is a
combination of your hybrid and the environment. Even if
your corn is high-yielding, but the environment is not
really good, you won’t get that yield,” he explains.
The
Philippines, he says, gets stress from the environment,
with droughts and diseases that affect the corn yield.
He says
Monsanto is now trying to develop a drought-tolerant corn,
seeing how drought has been plaguing corn-growing
countries like the Philippines the past several years.
Incidentally, it was a seven-year drought condition that
drastically reduced Australia’s rice farm yields, and this
was one of the triggers, according to earlier news
reports, of the current supply-and-price crisis in the
world market for the grain.
“With this
new technology that hopefully in a few years’ time will be
available to corn farmers in the
Philippines,
I’m sure it can help them address the problem they
encounter in the field,” says Estrada.
He
concedes, meanwhile, that yet another issue being raised
against seed producers is the cost, but stresses that it
is also important to look at how much value these
technologies give to farmers. And then proceeds to do the
math: conventional corn costs an average of P3,500 per
hectare, compared with the GM hybrid, which would entail
an additional cost of P1,500 to P2,000. “But if the farmer
would harvest six tons per hectare [from the GM corn]
versus five tons for conventional, that’s an additional
one-ton yield for a farmer. At the price of P12 per kilo,
that’s an additional P12,000 in income,” he says—way above
the additional cost of the seed. | 
