Experts say India’s agricultural biotechnology has emerged as one of the fastest growing in the entire world in recent years, and the latest report of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) attributes this to the phenomenon of the genetically-improved Bt cotton.

Among the many institutions involved in biotechnology commercialization is the International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), which is based in India and has been at the forefront of promoting agricultural biotechnology in the country.

ICRISAT has an incubator that has done wonders in developing Bt corn and other products that are appropriate to India and has been utilized as well to develop new technology that promotes commercialization of biotechnology products.

One technology that it commercialized is BT cotton by Seedworks (I) Pvt Ltd. ICRISAT-ABI provided the enterprise with support on biotechnology techniques, biosafety consultancy, biotech lab and greenhouse infrastructure.

This has not been lost on Filipino biotech experts who nurtured the commercialization of Bt corn more than four years ago in their belief that it would boost the country’s production and trigger an agri-biotech revolution.

A number of "Pinoy Biotek" products are in the pipeline and waiting commercial release.

Genetically-improved crops that grow faster, yield better, and are superior in traits can offer farmers a better chance to maximize output and increase incomes, experts said.

In India, agricultural biotechnology has become the third largest contributor among various biotech sectors, with total revenues of more than $ 229 million in 2006-2007, which meant a growth of 55 percent, the USDA said.