Corn farming technology for the upland areas developed by seed company Monsanto Philippines called ”Tipid Sak” now allows farmers to plant corn even in highly elevated areas with minimum, if not zero tillage, a biotechnology group said in a press release. Rosalie Ellasus, president of the Philippine Maize Federation, Inc., said farmers in Sara, Iloilo are using crops like the genetically engineered herbicide-tolerant Roundup Ready corn appropriate for upland areas.

The Philippine Maize Federation Inc. has lauded the support of the Department of Agriculture to corn farmers under the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani [...] The P2,000 per bag seed subsidy for Bt corn, a genetically-enhanced corn variety, is P800 more than the P1,200 subsidy farmers get under the program for conventional corn seeds. This is because Bt corn seed is more expensive, compared to conventional corn varieties [...]

Senator Loren Legarda on Wednesday urged the government to diversify its agricultural development program this year instead of limiting it to promoting hybrid rice and genetically modified crops. Legarda noted that while the hybrid rice subsidy program was supposed to have ended in 2007, the Department of Agriculture had sought for a three-year extension on the subsidy. [...] ”The contention basically is that increased hybrid rice adoption and production have not materialized,” she added.

A World Bank executive has recommended that the Philippines pay attention to the issues of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), intellectual property rights (IPRs), biofuels, and climate change to alleviate its poor. Dr. Derek Byerlee, representative of World Bank Philippines, citing the World Development Report (WDR) that shows failure of Third World governments to tap its agriculture potentials for growth, said these governments, including the Philippines, pay heed to these issues ”especially among the agricultural sector”.

Organic farmers in Mindanao have protested the Department of Agriculture’s policy of providing financial support to those who will plant varieties of genetically-engineered corn or Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) corn. Francis Morales, of the Upliftment of the Moral, Economic, Technological, Socio-spiritual Aspirations of Persons or Metsa Foundation, said the government subsidy to BT corn farmers benefits agricultural companies, which have high stakes in the BT corn business.

The provincial government of Negros Occidental yesterday stood its ground in banning genetically-modified organism in the province, despite the denial of support by the Department of Agriculture. Unfazed by the stand of the DA, Governor Joseph Marañon yesterday said, ”We have to study what is the legal side of the local government units.”

An international nongovernmental organization has asked the government to deny an application of pharmaceutical giant Bayer for commercial distribution of its genetically modified rice, Liberty Link Rice 62, on grounds that the evaluation process is ”concealed from the public.” The Southeast Asia Regional Initiative for Community Empowerment (SEARice) raised the alarm, saying the ”concealment” also posed serious questions on the independence of the government’s Scientific and Technical Review Panel from GMO-producing firms. ”We urge the Department of Agriculture to divulge the composition of the STRP and assure the public of the members’ independence from any GMO firm’s interest,” said Socrates Lugasip, SEARice technical officer.

Farmers in this rice-producing province have hit the introduction of hybrid varieties of rice here, saying the increased use of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) has been taking its toll on them and their families. Particularly addressing their question to the Department of Agriculture (DA), the farmers said the Agriculture Department has been promoting hybrid seeds, instead of traditional varieties, at the expense of the farmers and the environment.

The Department of Agriculture is targetting 5,000 hectares in the provinces of Sarangani and Sultan Kudarat as areas for a subsidy program involving the planting of the controversial Bacillus thuringiensis corn (Bt corn). The DA is apparently distancing itself from South Cotabato, known as an ”anti-BT corn hotbed.” The province has an ”anti-Bt corn policy.” [...] He said the DA will need P6 million for the subsidy program as the DA central office announced last week that farmers who will opt to plant the transgenic crop would be given P1,200 per hectare.

The seed industry will do whatever it takes to stop farmers saving seeds. The only way it can make big money from seeds is to force farmers to buy from seed companies every year. With rice, one of the world’s most important crops, it is no wonder that there is a relentless push for a hybrid variety that is essentially sterile. Suicide seeds, so to speak. of course, the seed industry wants people to believe that there are other reasons behind the push for hybrid rice. They talk of higher yields and big profits for farmers. But if you look at the situation in the fields, none of that turns out to be true.