Changes in the climate and the environment are affecting agriculture, according to national scientist Gelia Castilo.

Castillo said the effects of El Niño are already evident. One of the effects of El Niño is lower food productivity which results in poverty and hunger.

The drought has spread not only in the Philippines but in other countries as well. Environmental changes are creating a big impact on agriculture. Castillo said crop biotechnology can help agriculture cope with environmental changes, citing the work of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).

Dr. Clive James, founder and chairman of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), says crop biotechnology that can increase yield, and at the same time conserve nature.

Crop biotechnology was the strong advocacy of Dr. Norman Borlaug, who was awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 1970. This technology not only improves agricultural productivity but it provides healthy and affordable for the people.

In 1996, only six countries adopted crop biotechnology. Now, 25 countries all in all are embracing biotechnology.

“As a result of consistent and substantial crop productivity, and economic, environmental and welfare benefits, a record of 14 million small and large farmers in 25 countries planted 134 million hectares in 2009, an increase of 7 percent or 9 million hectares over 2008. The 80-fold increase in biotech crop hectares between 1996 and 2009 is unprecedented and makes biotech crops the fastest adopted crop technology in the recent history of agriculture,” said James.

James said that plant biotechnology can contribute to a sustainable development in several ways.

Plant biotechnology can increase supply with less production cost. Biotech (Bt) crops and genetically modified crops are found to be more yielding compared to ordinary crops. Therefore, this technology can contribute not only to food security but also poverty and hunger alleviation.

Most of the world’s poor consist of farmers in the industrial and developing countries. Data from the ISAAA shows that resource-poor farmers in the 25 countries which approved the adoption of biotechnology are the major beneficiaries of this agricultural development.

Local farmer Joseph Benemerito, corn coordinator of the Alfonso Lista Corn Cluster Federation in Ifugao, can attest to that. Benemerito started from growing a single hectare of Bt crops. But after a few years, his single hectare of Bt crops has now expanded to several hectares, producing more harvest and net income.

Crop biotechnology not only promotes increased productivity but it also conserves the world’s biodiversity, reduce agriculture’s environmental footprint, and mitigate climate change.