DA to pursue commercialization of biotech crops

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Agriculture (DA) is not backing down on its plan to promote the commercialization of biotech crops, particularly Golden Rice and Bt eggplant.

According to Dr. Candida Adalla, director of DA’s Biotechnology Program Implementing Unit (BPIU), biotech crops offer the best options for farmers to increase their yields and earn more money in the process.

Adalla explained that far from being a health risk, Golden Rice offers the best chance for the country to battle malnutrition, particularly vitamin A deficiency, and save hundreds of thousands of young children and nursing mothers from serious health problems.

She stressed that a number of institutions collaborated to produce Golden Rice, with the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), the DA-BPIU, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Helen Keller International, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) collaborating.

The Golden Rice breeding line has already been identified, she revealed, and this line could produce higher levels of beta carotene (up to 37 micrograms) per gram of rice.

Adalla said 150 grams of uncooked Golden Rice can provide 50 percent of the required daily allowance (RDA) of vitamin A for an adult.

Vitamin A production actually happens in the human body, and the beta carotene acts as the precursor.

Since the genetic material for Golden Rice had already been donated, she noted, this could easily be introgressed into Psb Rc82, a popular local variety.

“Golden Rice was developed using genetic modification techniques with genes from corn and a common soil microorganism that together produce the beta carotene in the rice grain,” Adalla said.

She added that the variety contains the genes necessary to activate the biochemical pathway for provitamin A.

“The intensity of the color represents the concentration. This new quality was possible only via genetic engineering,” Adalla argued.

Aside from beta carotene, Adalla said research is underway to introduce genes for bacterial blight and tungro resistance into popular local varieties through DNA marker-assisted selection and backcrossing.

Adalla explained that Golden Rice is crucial to addressing the problem of vitamin deficiency, which affects 15 percent of Filipino children aged between six months and five years.

A total of 9.5 percent of pregnant women are also affected by the malady, along with 6.4 percent of lactating mothers.

Adalla revealed that by infusing bacterial blight and tungro resistance to rice varieties, farmers can prevent 50 percent loss from tungro and 20 percent from bacterial blight.

This a big boost to about 2.5 million farmers who depend on rice cultivation for their livelihood, the DA official concluded.