More farmers into biotech crops

By Henrylito D. Tacio
More and more farmers around the world are planting biotech crops in their fields, according to the annual report released by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA).
From 1.7 million hectares planted to biotech crops in 1996, it went up to 179.7 million hectares in 2015, said the report entitled 20th Anniversary of the Global Commercialization of Biotech Crops (1996-2015) and Biotech Crop Highlights in 2015.
“This 100-fold increase in just 20 years makes biotechnology the fastest adopted crop technology in recent times, reflecting farmer satisfaction with biotech crops,” the report pointed out.
Farmers in 28 countries who adopted the technology have reaped more than US$150 billion in benefits from biotech crops since 1996.  “This has helped alleviate poverty for up to 16.5 million small farmers and their families annually totaling about 65 million people, who are some of the poorest people in the world,” it said.
“More farmers are planting biotech crops in developing countries precisely because biotech crops are a rigorously-tested option for improving crop yields,” said Dr. Clive James, founder and emeritus chair of ISAAA, who has authored the ISAAA report for the past two decades.
“Despite claims from opponents that biotechnology only benefits farmers in industrialized countries, the continued adoption of the technology in developing countries disproves that,” Dr. James added.
For the fourth consecutive year, developing countries planted more biotech crops (14.5 million hectares) than industrialized countries.
In 2015, Latin American, Asian and African farmers grew biotech crops on 54% of global biotech hectarage (97.1 million hectares of 179.7 million biotech hectares) and of the 28 countries that planted biotech crops, 20 were developing nations.
“Annually, up to 18 million farmers, 90% of whom were small, resource-poor growers in developing countries, benefited from planting biotech crops from 1996 to 2015,” the report said.
Take the case of China.  “Between 1997 and 2014, biotech cotton varieties brought an estimated $17.5 billion worth of benefits to Chinese cotton farmers, and they realized $1.3 billion in 2014 alone,” explained Dr. Randy Hautea, who is the global coordinator of ISAAA.
In 2015, India became the leading cotton producer in the world with much of its growth attributed to biotech Bt cotton.
“India is the largest biotech cotton country in the world with 11.6 million hectares planted in 2015 by 7.7 million small farmers. In 2014 and 2015, an impressive 95 percent of India’s cotton crop was planted with biotech seed,” the report said.
“Farmers, who are traditionally risk-averse, recognize the value of biotech crops, which offer benefits to farmers and consumers alike, including drought tolerance, insect and disease resistance, herbicide tolerance, and increased nutrition and food quality,” Dr. Hautea pointed out. “Moreover, biotech crops contribute to more sustainable crop production systems that address concerns regarding climate change and global food security.”
In the Philippines, some lives of Filipino farmers have been transformed when they plant biotech crops.  It happened to Ryan Lising, who has lived all his life in a farming community in Mandani, Magalang in Pampanga. 
Here is his story as related by ISAAA’s Clement Dionglay:
Just like his father, he is a corn farmer. But unlike his father, who planted white corn, he is planting biotech corn. Because of that, he is now considered an important person in the community.
But it was not so before.  Before he ventured into farming, Ryan worked as a messenger and errand boy for some of the big corn farms. When his motorcycle was stolen, he felt that he lost his source of income.
Helpless without the motorcycle that allowed him to move faster around the community, he decided to become a farmhand, taking whatever jobs being offered to him.
“I used to wake up at four in the morning to look for work. I went from one farm to the next, hoping to get a job that will help me feed my family,” he recalled.
But despite his perseverance and hard work, it seemed that “it was just never enough,” to quote his words.
In 1996, after participating in a corn farm demonstration, Ryan sought his father’s help so he could plant white corn in the family’s 1.5 hectare farmland. His income improved a bit, but his crop challenged him.
“White corn is very laborious to plant,” he admitted. “It needs more insecticides and we need to apply granular insecticide to each plant on a daily basis depending on the level of infestation.”
And there the problems that most corn farmers have to face: low selling price of corn, relentless pests and the high prices of insecticides needed to control them.
Ryan was looking for change and it came in 2003 after the government approved the commercial planting of Bt corn in the country.  Ryan was one of the early adopters of Bt corn when it was introduced by seed company technicians in Mandani.
Though uncertain about the new corn that the technicians introduced in the farm demonstration, his frustrations with white corn – his crop then – urged him to try it. 
Following his first Bt corn harvest, it became clear to Ryan that there was no turning back. He knew that it was the beginning of a new life for him and his family, who has faced so many hardships in trying to make ends meet. 
“When I realized that I will earn more if I plant Bt corn, I decided to add two more children to my brood. Sending my children to school was not that difficult anymore,” he recalled.
When stacked traits corn was approved for commercial planting in the country, Ryan did not hesitate to plant it on his farm which has grown from 1.5 to more than 20 hectares. 
“I have a new motorcycle now to replace the stolen one, and I was able to buy my own farm machines. I have two trucks and two tractors, and I am getting a new, bigger tractor soon,” he said.
Ryan also has more time to spend with his family because he does not need to spend a lot of time on his farm. He also found other means of livelihood in their community.
A decade of planting biotech corn has changed Ryan’s and his family’s life. His increased and steady income from planting biotech corn allowed him to explore other business opportunities. 
These days, he still wakes up at four in the morning, but not to look for work anymore.  “I go to different corn farms in our village to see their corn. I am now a corn buyer,” he said.
Ryan uses his two trucks to transport the corn that he buys from the various farms in their village. He also buys and transports other agricultural produce such as sweet corn and vegetables, and helps the people in their village by providing them with jobs, an undertaking that makes him proud. 
“Biotech corn changed my life completely,” Ryan said. “After years of planting it, I am now an important man.”