Farmers’ growing awareness on the ease of use of Bt corn to combat the perennially devastating corn borer, eliminating much pesticide spray, propped up use of Bt corn particularly in traditionally corn-growing areas Cagayan and Isabela in Region 2.

The Philippines has become the first country in Asia to commercialize Bt corn and is optimistically seen to embrace the GM technique on at least half of the hybrid corn area.

"If we can have it on at least half of the 700,000-hectare hybrid area, that will be 350,000 hectares. At 70,000 hectares, we just have one-fifth of that," said Randy Hautea, global coordinator of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), in a press briefing.

While the growth rate of Bt corn use appears to have slowed down last year compared to a growth of about four times in 2004 from 12,000 hectares in 2003, the direction toward a plateau is anticipated.

"Adoption growth of biotech crops is usually at its fastest in the first two years. In Argentina, where the use of biotech crop is already 95 percent, growth won’t grow higher than one or two percent," he said.

The expanding use of the borer-resistant corn is believed to be somewhat attributable to the gaining acceptance of the technology from more sectors specially as it eliminates the use of environmentally-destructive, chemical-based pesticides which puts to tremendous risks farmers’ health.

"The University of Rome has endorsed its safe use," said Emil Q. Javier, president of the National Academy of Science and Technology, in the same press briefing.

Compared to 21 countries that have applied GM technology in their farms, the Philippines came out thirteenth highest in area even if it is just in the third year of Bt corn’s commercialization.

Aside from the corn-borer resistant variety, the newly-commercialized herbicide-resistant corn, Bt 11, or the Roundup Ready corn by US-based Monsanto, took up a share of the market with Bt 11 planted on 3,500 to 4,000 hectares of corn farms last year.

Farmers’ use of the herbicide-resistant corn is actually seen to pick up faster this year.

"The weed problem is more pervasive in the market than the pest problem," Hautea said.

Even if certain local government units have issued prohibitions on the use of the GM crop within their jurisdiction, there appears to have been no conflict at all involving farmers since Bt corn’s commercialization was approved by a national agency.

These are the National Committee on Biosafety of the Philippines and the Bureau of Plant Industry.

"It’s important to see the approval process. The process of evaluation of biotech crops is very strict in the Philippines," Hautea said.

The Philippines has 2.5 million hectares of land devoted to corn annually.