Eggplants are not as lowly as many Pinoys think. They are fashionably called aubergine in Europe with Italy and Spain ranking among the world’s top producers. Eighty-five percent of the world’s total production, however, comes from Asia with China, India and Indonesia accounting for almost eighty percent.
Their minerals and vitamins pack a lot of wallop against malnutrition: 5.7 gms. of carbohydrates, more than 3 gms of dietary fiber, 230 mg. of potassium, niacin, folate, thiamin, magnesium, iron, calcium, zinc, phosphorus and protein.
The Philippine Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) estimates that 21,170 hectares are used for eggplant farming in the Philippines and that some 200,942 metric tons were harvested last year valued at P3.13-billion.
Thirty percent (30%) of the crop’s total peso value, or roughly a whopping P592-million, however, was spent on pesticides.
Eggplants are closely related to tobacco but are battered by a multitude of pests and diseases, the most destructive of which is the shoot and fruit borer (FSB). It is scientifically called Leucinodes orbonalis Guenee, a moth specie prevalent in Asia and Africa.
“The moths’ larvae feed on eggplant shoots and fruits until maturity,” said Dr. Serge Francisco, Chief Science Research Specialist at the Philippine Rice Research Institute.
Dr. Francisco said Filipino eggplant farmers are left with no choice but to rely on chemical pesticides spraying as much as 42 times per production period using approximately more than 65 liters of chemicals per hectare.
Dr. Francisco and several other Filipino crop scientists recommend that field testing for Bt Talong commence in the country to determine what exactly are the risks and the benefits of FSB-resistant eggplants, a move that sparked a spirited opposition among environmentalists here.
Taking observers aback is the position taken by Dr. Romeo F. Quijano of the Pesticide Action Network Philippines.
Quijano is known as the main advocate of pesticide-elimination in Philippine agriculture and his staunch opposition to the field testing of Bt Talong in Davao City was seen as a direct contradiction to his advocacy.
Dr. Candida Adalla, chief of the Biotechnology Program of the Department of Agriculture, reminded Quijano that “Bt in eggplant is directed against pests and not on humans and that Bt is naturally present in Philippine soil and had been in use for the past 110 years without any deleterious effect.”
“Foisting fear of the unknown is not a reasonable answer to world poverty and hunger,” said Adalla.
Catholics in this predominantly-Catholic city do not have a united stand on Bt Talong but many of them cite the reported endorsement of genetically-modified organisms by the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences as “a benevolent application of science and technology.”
“It is after all for the benefit of everybody, especially our poor farmers who are waging uphill battles against pests,” said Efren Retorca of the Basic Christian Community of Barangay Lizada, Toril, Davao City.
So, the next time you enjoy your pinakbet, eggplant salad or torta, think of the hardships and the problems that eggplant farmers have to confront to raise and bring to your table the quality eggplants that you need. [Ernesto Ordonez]
