Resumption of field testing of Bt talong urged

By Henrylito D. Tacio
With the newly enactment of a joint department circular, the Philippine American Academy of Science and Engineering (PAASE) urged for the “prompt and continuation” of research and development and field testing of Bt eggplant.
The Joint Department Circular No. 1, Series of 2016, titled “Rules and Regulations for the Research and Development, Handling and Use, Transboundary Movement, Release into the Environment, and Management of Genetically-Modified Plant and Plant Products Derive from the Use of Modern Biotechnology,” is a collaborative effort of the five government agencies.
These are the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Agriculture, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Health and Department of Interior and Local Government.
“We urge all parties involved to take prompt and responsible actions,” said PAASE in a statement. “We commit to working with the Philippine government, universities and the public, if called for, in providing expert advice and recommendations on the various facets of the development and use of Bt talong in the Philippines.”
PAASE is an international organization of scientists and engineers who have distinguished themselves in scholarly and research-related activities and who are of Philippine descent — based in the Philippines, the United States and elsewhere.
The organization calls on Philippine government leaders, farmers, academics, scientists, engineers, the private sector, journalists, students and the general public to do these three tasks:
 
· Acknowledge that the development and field testing of Bt talong is an urgent imperative to provide an effective, safe and sustainable solution to the economically and environmentally ruinous problem currently facing Filipino eggplant farmers;
 
· Mobilize the Filipino science and technology community to launch a nationwide educational and extension program to disseminate accurate scientific facts and information on Bt talong and to combat any misinformation on the subject; and
 
· Work with Filipino eggplant farmers to build scientific and technological capacity best suited to their circumstances in regard to sustainable and cost-effective integrated cultivation management practices.
 
The PAASE statement is signed by following personalities: Dr. Joel L. Cuello of the University of Arizona, Dr. Diana S. Aga, of the University of Buffalo New York, Dr. Lourdes J. Cruz and Dr. Ernesto M. Pernia of the University of the Philippines Diliman, Dr. Larry Ilag of the United States International Agency for Development, Dr. Rita P. Laude and Asuncion K. Raymundo of the University of the Philippines at Los Baños, Dr. Gonzalo Serafica of Xylos Corporation, Dr. Alice Tarun of the States University of New York, and Dr. Salvador Z. Tarun, Jr. of St. Bonaventure University.
Eggplant, locally called talong, is one of the country’s leading vegetable crops in terms of both volume and area of production.  “Eggplant production in the Philippines covers approximately 22,000 hectares, yielding a volume of about 220,000 metric tons annually,” said the statement.
As such, eggplant is a valuable source of income of Filipinos farmers.  Currently, the total volume of harvested eggplant is valued at P2.6 billion.
Edwin Paraluman, who is from General Santos City, said that he has been waiting for a long time for the Bt talong to be planted commercially. “If will get rich in planting corn, the more I will get rich in planting eggplant,” he said, adding that he planted eggplant in his farm “but 70-90 percent had been damaged because of the eggplant borer.”
The eggplant fruit and shoot borer (EFSB) is one of the most destructive insect pests that attack eggplants. Scientifically, it is called Leucinodes orbonalis, a moth specie prevalent in Asia and Africa. The moths’ larvae feed on eggplant shoots and fruits until maturity.
Before the invasion of EFSB, truckloads of eggplant were transported from Pangasinan to Manila on a daily basis.  “The emergence of EFSB as a major pest was precipitated by a disregard of the basics of ecological diversity and balance,” PAASE pointed out.  “At the outset, when this pest was of negligible importance it was ignored as the continuing cultivation of the crop, demanded by a growing market, afforded steady income.  In many eggplant growing areas, ratooning of the crop, which provided almost uninterrupted host presence, exacerbated localized outbreaks.”
Today, EFSB cannot be overlooked anymore.  “The EFSB can cause as much as 50-75 percent loss of fruits,” said Dr. Emil Q. Javier, former head of the science and technology department. “The worm of the insect bore tunnels in the fruit, rendering them unfit for consumption.”
Unfortunately, there is no known genetic resistance to EFSB in cultivated and wild eggplants. “The insects are concealed in the shoots and fruits and are difficult to reach,” Dr. Javier explained. “Thus, in order to protect their crops, farmers spray their plants almost every other day with insecticides.”
Edgar C. Talasan is a vegetable farmer from barangay Imalutao in Impasug-ong, Bukidnon. He said in his 15 years of vegetable farming, in every eggplant cropping cycle, he sprayed at least twice a week. For every 1,000 eggplant hills, he used 0.5 kilogram of Lannate, two bottles (250 mL) of Prevathon, two bottles (250 mL) of Alika, one liter of Karate, one kilogram of Daconil, and 0.5 liter of Selecron.
The current methods used by some eggplant growers in controlling the EFSB are unacceptable, said Dr. Emiliana Bernardo, an entomologist or a scientist who studies insects.  It is unhealthy to consumers, farmers, and the environment, she added.
According to Dr. Bernando, studies conducted in major eggplant producing provinces found that almost all farmers use chemical insecticides and that some even dip the unharvested eggplant fruits in a mix of chemicals just to ensure that harvests are marketable.
“Eggplant products become not only laced with pesticides, but their price also jumps from ordinarily about P45 per kilo to P70 per kilo — an unaffordable price to most urban low-income consumers,” PAASE said.
“The very basic question is, which is safer, the present practice or the alternative, the Bt eggplant which is rigorously evaluated by experts?” she asked. “Is bathing the unharvested eggplant fruits in chemicals, which would end up in dinner tables of people, safe?”
That’s where Bt talong comes in.  Bt stands for Bacillus thuringiensis. “Bt talong was developed by genetically engineering a gene from the bacteria so that the genetically modified eggplants now produce a protein that defends it against insect attacks,” explained Dr. Michael Purugganan, a Filipino plant geneticist who is the Dean of Science at the New York University.
“When ingested by the larvae of the target insect, the Bt protein is activated in the gut’s alkaline condition and punctures the mid-gut leaving the insect unable to eat. The insect dies within a few days,” noted a briefing paper circulated by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).
Bt is present in the Philippine soil and had been in use for years without any harmful effects. As it comes from the earth itself, Bt is very natural, according to Dr. Bernardo. In 1901, Bt was discovered to have an insecticidal property. By the 1950s, it became a well-known biological insecticide.
Bt is easily cultured by fermentation,” the ISAAA briefing paper said. “Thus, over the last 40 years, Bt has been used as an insecticide by farmers worldwide. Organic farming has benefited from Bt insecticide, as it is one of the very few pesticides permitted by organic standards. The insecticide is applied either as a spray or as ground applications. It comes in both granules and liquefied form.”
“Growing Bt talong is expected to significantly increase agricultural productivity in areas severely affected by EFSB and is projected to raise farmers’ income by about P50,000 per hectare,”  PAASE said.
But the big question is: Is the Bt protein found in Bt talong safe for non-target organisms?
“Results from numerous biosafety and toxicological studies have allowed the US Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization to conclude that the consumption of genetically modified farm products which produce Bt toxins is safe and unlikely to pose health hazards to humans and non-target animals owing to the specificity of the insecticidal activity of Bt toxin to specific arthropods,” PAASE explained.
 According to Dr. Bernardo, cooking the Bt eggplant can completely denature the Bt protein. “It is non-detectable in any cooked food therefore there is no human exposure to Bt proteins in eating cooked Bt crops,” she said.
 As such, the PAASE urged for the resumption of field testing of Bt eggplant in the Philippines. 
 “Given that extensive research have provided scientific evidence for the relative safety of Bt-derived insecticidal proteins in humans and animals — and considering the projected significant positive impact of Bt talong on the Philippines’ food security and farmers’ incomes — the resumption and continuation of research and development and field testing of Bt talong with the view to generating the necessary empirical data to evaluate its environmental biosafety specifically in the Philippines is fully justified and should be urgently prioritized.”