LEADERS of the six Regional Agriculture and Fisheries Councils in Mindanao have reaffirmed their vow to support the commercialization of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) eggplant.
Besides these key regional leaders, 142 farmers recently assembled in Cagayan de Oro City for the First Mindanao Agri-biotech Farmers Congress and declared their unanimous support for agri-biotechnology and the commercialization of Bt eggplant being developed by Filipino scientists from the University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB).
Also present during the congress were farmer-leaders from the Asian Farmer’s Regional Network (Asfarnet) Philippines, affiliated organizations and industry stakeholders. Dr. Rhodora R. Aldemita of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) provided the science-based technology discussion during the congress.
Other ISAAA backers, including officials of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture, also expressed their support for the propagation of Bt eggplant.
Edgar Talasan of Impasug-ong, Bukidnon, who had been cultivating eggplants for more than 20 years, said he was dismayed over the delay of the approval of Bt eggplant.
With Bt eggplant, Talasan said heavy pesticide spraying would no longer be necessary, a fact that Greenpeace and other antibiotech groups do not recognize. Talasan explained that by working on vegetables and other crops, he was able to send his children to school and one of them has already graduated with a college degree.
Prof. Floro Dalapag of the Crop Science Department of Xavier University College of Agriculture said research undertaken by graduating agriculture students have demonstrated the safety of agricultural-biotech crops.
He also presented simple and “laymanized” basics of the application of biotechnology in agriculture. Gawad Saka Award winner Fedencio Mellalos of Libona, Bukidnon, also relayed to the participants how he practiced both organic farming and biotech methods, especially for the high-yield Bt corn that he has been cultivating.
This combination of organic fertilizer and biotech corn has maximized his yield and gave him better income. Edwin Paraluman, incumbent president of the Philippine Farmers Advisory Board and Asfarnet Asia Coordinator, shared his experiences as one of the pioneers of Bt corn, having planted the same since 2002. He said that by cultivating Bt crops, he has become “healthy and wealthy.” Paraluman said that farmers should be given the option to choose which technology, or a combination of technologies, best serves any farming venture.
From Kabacan, North Cotabato, Councilor Jonathan Tabara, who chairs the municipal council’s Committee on Agriculture, said farmers in his town could reap benefits from Bt crops.
Tabara said that just like any other technologies, biotech crops should be made available to farmers.
He said he supports agri-biotech and announced that in his municipality, he will be proposing an ordinance that would promote good agriculture practices and ensure the sustainable coexistence of conventional, organic, and biotechnology crops while preserving biodiversity within the territorial jurisdiction of Kabacan, North Cotabato.