Biotechnology Could Help Filipino Farmers Increase Yields and Reduce Pesticide Use
The Biotech Advantage 07/10/2002
Farmers in the Philippines could benefit from advances in plant biotechnology, according to Dr. Channapatha Prakash of Tuskegee University.
"The American farmers benefit from it," he says. "There is no reason why Filipino farmers shouldn't also benefit."
Prakash says that using biotechnology could help Filipino farmers increase their yields and reduce their pesticide use. Some biotech traits
could also help lower post-harvest losses, since many genetically modified crops have a longer shelf life.
"Almost 50% of vegetable and fruit produce is lost because we [Filipinos] don't have the infrastructure for processing, for transportation or
cold storage," he says. "Biotechnology reduces that."
Genetically enhanced crops could help Filipino farmers reduce the estimated 30 to 40 percent losses that are caused by diseases in plants.
These advances could also help farmers lower their costs by reducing the amount of pesticides they need to use on their crops.
"Local Farmers Urged to Adopt Biotechnology," BusinessWorld