Isabela governor backs Bt corn field testing

Isabela Governor Faustino Dy Jr. threw his support behind the field testing and eventual commercialization of a high-yielding pest-restistant variety of corn that could possibly increase local farmers’ yields by up to 40 percent.

Dy backed the field trials of Bt corn being conducted by global agricultural technology leader Monsanto. The US-based company also introduced the hybrid corn variety currently veing used in the Philippines.

In a meeting with mayors of Isabela province, Dy warned saboteurs against disrupting the field testing of Bt corn. He urged farmers to allow the testing to be completed so that any decision on the variety may be based on scientific data.

Dy expressed alarm over "disinformation and misinformation" campaigns being launched by groups opposed to the Bt corn variety. He expressed surprise over the seemingly well-funded opposition "which has not offered sufficient scientific data to back their allegations against the project."

Several so-called nongovernmental organizations have called for a stop to the field testing of Bt corn, alleging that it could be harmful to the environment and that "ingesting the variety could cause homosexuality."

Dy described the allegations as being mere superstitions.

In the country’s campaign for food sufficiency and fight against hunger and poverty, we must rely on scientific data instead of superstition, Dy said.

The Isabela governor decried the threats aired by the groups to uproot the Bt corn plants in the trial farms. Earlier, the same groups attacked the cassava farm projects initiated by Dy.

The Bt corn variety is highly pest-resistant and could provide higher yield without the use of pesticides. The variety is now being used in other countries including Canada, US and Argentina.

Dy said his support for the project is in line with his vision of transforming Isabela into a major food basket for Northern Luzon.

Isabela is basically an agricultural province; we must therefore maximize the yield potential of every inch of available agricultural land, Dy said.