August 20, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines ought to broaden its adoption of genetically modified (GM) crops to strengthen the agriculture sector, notably by introducing bio-engineered high-value crops that may resist pests and ailments, enhance yield and improve the nation’s export potential.
That is in line with Rhodora Romero-Aldemita, the chief director of the non-profit group Worldwide Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Functions Inc. (ISAAA), who stated crops resembling avocado, banana, and pineapple are robust candidates for biotechnology growth.
She famous that these high-value crops may play a significant position in strengthening the nation’s farm financial system and boosting its share in international commerce.
“Banana is likely one of the export earners of the Philippines, and it’s at all times affected by virus ailments, bacterial chunk and fungal ailments as properly. So, disease-resistant bananas are crucial as a result of we export quite a lot of bananas,” she stated throughout an ISAAA-organized workshop on the Sheraton Manila Bay yesterday.
“We export additionally quite a lot of pineapples. So, high-value crops, exportable crops which can earn cash for our nation could be superb,” she added.
She famous that the Philippines can entry current GM varieties already commercialized abroad by materials switch agreements, then check and adapt them to native situations.
“We don’t have to start out from scratch. What we’d like is to verify these crops are resistant, high-yielding, and appropriate to the environment,” Romero-Aldemita stated.
Regardless of scientific progress, the broader adoption of GM crops within the nation has been slowed by lingering courtroom instances and shifting coverage instructions.
“There are courtroom instances which can be nonetheless there, and we’re nonetheless ready for them to offer the ultimate verdict in order that we will proceed on with the analysis, with the deployment of seeds in order that farmers can have that,” she stated.
“And we additionally consider that political will would supply optimistic influence as properly, identical to in Myanmar and Bangladesh, the place even the governments are those pushing for farmers to plant,” she added.
In keeping with ISAAA, the Philippines has to date planted GM crops – together with corn, rice, eggplant and cotton– on about 709,000 hectares, a lot smaller than India’s 11.9 million hectares or China’s 3.5 million.
Even so, it ranks amongst 9 Asia-Pacific international locations tracked by the non-profit group, with Australia planting 2.2 million hectares of GM crops, Pakistan 1.9 million and Myanmar 150,000.
By comparability, Indonesia has 13,300 hectares whereas Bangladesh has solely 2,786 hectares.
