Manila, The Philippines
July 3, 2007
By Rhea Sandique-Carlo,
Market Watch
via SEAMEO SEARCA
The Philippines has so far approved 41 varieties of
genetically-modified plants for use in the country, with three
types of corn also cleared for commercial cultivation,
the Agriculture Department
said Tuesday.
The corn varieties approved for commercial cultivation are Bt
corn, which is resistant to corn borer, developed by U.S.
agrochemical firm Monsanto Co., a herbicide tolerant corn also
developed by Monsanto, and a Bt corn variety developed by Swiss
company Syngenta AG, said Clarito Barron, assistant director of
the department's Bureau of
Plant Industry.
As well as corn varieties, plants that have been approved for
direct use as food, feed and for processing are soybean, canola,
potato, cotton, sugarbeet and alfalfa, Barron told a news
briefing.
The BPI is also currently reviewing an application from Bayer
CropScience to introduce a genetically-modified variety of rice
for food, feed and processing.
Last year, total land area planted to Bt corn was estimated at
around 200,000 hectares while those planted to herbicide
tolerant varieties totaled around 56,000 hectares, the BPI said.
The Philippines was the first country in Asia to approve the
commercial cultivation of a genetically-modified Bt corn variety
in December 2002.
Other news
from the Philippines Agriculture Department |
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