UPLB eyes Pangasinan as Bt eggplant trial site
LINGAYEN—Proponents of the controversial biotech (Bt) eggplant want Pangasinan to be a site for research and development and has asked the provincial board for support.
In a presentation before the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) members on December 2, a representative of the University of the Philippines, Los Baños (UPLB)-Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB) outlined the potential benefits of the Bt eggplant in increasing production.
“Filipino farmers should not be denied access to these technologies which were developed in the most strictest possible ways and have the potential to provide economic benefits,” said Dr. Lourdes Taylo of Crop Science Cluster-IPB.
She pointed out how the production of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.), considered one of the most consumed vegetables in the country, suffers yield losses mainly from pests, diseases and extreme environmental conditions.
The Bt eggplant, made resistant to the number one pest in eggplant — eggplant fruit and shoot borer (FSB) through genetic modification, is facing both support and resistance from various groups.
FOOD SECURITY
Region 1 where Pangasinan is located has an eggplant production area of about 21,377 hectares as of 2011, with a yield of 207,994 metric tons valued at P2.4 billion, contributing 23% to the total national production.
Taylo said FSB damage reduces marketable yield by as much as 50 to 75 percent and most farmers still use insecticide sprays to control the pest.
She added that biotech crops have been in cultivation since 1996 in the United States and Canada and 2003 in the Philippines and there has been no scientifically proven adverse effects on human animals and environment.
The project is being developed by the UPLB in partnership with the Indian Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Limited, the first to develop the Bt eggplant, and Cornell University, with support from the United States Agency for International Development, the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications and the Department of Agriculture of the Philippines.–Johanne R. Macob
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