Wednesday, December 4, 2002
By Leilani M. Gallardo
Business World
through Checkbiotech.org

US-based multinational seed and agrochemical company Monsanto Co. is eyeing three local agribusiness companies to help market its genetically modified (GM) corn product once approved for commercial distribution.

Monsanto's global expansion leader for corn Eduardo I. Ayala told reporters in an interview at the company's headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, late last month the company is hopeful it can get its GM corn product out into the market next year through the distribution arms.

"We are eyeing three seed companies. We have our own subsidiary which is Dekalb, then we also have an agreement with Pioneer Hi-Bred (a subsidiary of Dupont Co.) and we are also talking with Cornworld Breeding System Corp. a farm company in Aurora, Isabela," he said.

Mr. Ayala said by forging partnerships with other agribusiness firms, local farmers will have wider access to the GM corn product.

"It increases the choices that farmers have. We hope to forge a value-sharing arrangement with the farmers who will purchase our product."

BusinessWorld earlier reported the interagency Science and Technology Review Panel (STRP) is to decide this week whether to recommend the approval of the commercial sale of GM corn, commonly known as bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn. Monsanto is the first company that has filed its application to market Bt corn in the Philippines.

The company claims field tests conducted since last year showed the use of Bt corn seeds improves the yields of food-grade white corn to five metric tons from the current national production average of 1.82 MT per hectare. BT corn is also expected to increase the yield of yellow feed corn to 6.14 MT-6.80 MT per hectare from the current 2.83 MT.

Bt corn was developed to resist Asiatic corn borers, a major cause of declining yield in local corn production. A GM or transgenic crop is a plant that contains a gene or genes that had been artificially inserted to create a desired trait. GM crops, such as corn, wheat and canola, are widely used in the US but have yet to be pioneered in the Philippines.

Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) chief Blo Umpar Adiong said in order to be recommended for commercial use, Monsanto's BT corn variety called Yieldguard, has to pass three criteria: health, food safety and environmental standards. He said it has already been cleared on the first two issues while the interagency STRP is awaiting for Monsanto's reply (due this week) on minor questions raised under the environmental criteria.

Mr. Adiong said that after the STRP makes its decision, the BPI has 30 days to submit its recommendation to the Secretary of Agriculture for final approval after which Monsanto can market its GM corn product.

He said Monsanto's reply will be the last remaining requirement for the state's assessment of the viability of BT corn for commercial use since other government agencies required to study the application have already given their go signal. These agencies are the Bureau of Animal Industry, Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Product Standards and the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority.