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<td height="205" valign="top" width="478"><font color="#666666" size="1"><img src="http://www.bic.searca.org/e-news/images/inthenews.jpg" width="139" height="28"></font> <br><a class="date"><em><font color="#666666" size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Posted 17 March 2010</font></em></a><br>
<br><a class="country"><font color="#336600" size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">PHILIPPINES</font></a><br><font size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">1-AFTER CHINA, PHILIPPINES MAY APPROVE GMO RICE<br>2-RP STILL A BIOTECH 'MEGA COUNTRY'<br>
3-FILIPINA IS FIRST ASEAN WINNER OF L’ORÉAL-UNESCO SCIENCE AWARD<br><br></font><a class="country"><font color="#336600" size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">CHINA</font></a><br><font size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">4-GM GRAIN STILL 'LONG DISTANCE AWAY'<br>
<br></font><a class="country"><font color="#336600" size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">EUROPE</font></a><br><font size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">5-SCIENTISTS FIND NEW WAY TO HELP CROPS FIGHT PESTS<br><br>
</font><a class="country"><font color="#336600" size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">GLOBAL</font></a><br><font size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">6-BIOTECH CROPS' GLOBAL VALUE HITS $10.5 BILLION IN 2009<br>
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<div align="left"><font size="2"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong>1-AFTER CHINA, PHILIPPINES MAY APPROVE GMO RICE</strong><br>by Manolo Serapio Jr. (Manila)<br>16-March-2010 </font></font><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62F0T720100316?type=FoodandAgriculture10" target="_blank"><font color="#0000ff" size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Reuters</font></a><br>
<br><font size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">(Reuters) - The Philippines may follow China as the next Asian country to approve widespread planting of genetically modified rice crops, possibly as early as 2011, an industry expert said on Tuesday.<br>
<br>The Philippines, the world's largest rice importer, is one of several countries currently in field tests for GMO rice crops, Robert Zeigler, director general of the Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), said at the Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit.<br>
<br>Golden Rice, a Vitamin A-enriched grain developed by the IRRI is being bred into local varieties as well in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Vietnam as part of testing to ensure safety, he said.<br><br>"There's some possibility that it would be the Philippines that will get approval next, for Golden Rice. Probably late 2011 or early 2012," Zeigler said.<br>
<br>"Bangladesh will follow very shortly thereafter and India, probably a year or two later."<br><br>China approved the safety of a locally developed insect-resistant Bt strain of rice last November, opening the door to widespread introduction of the GMO crop within about three years.<br>
<br>With a gene bank of around 100,000 rice varieties, IRRI breeds high-yielding strains of rice to meet growing demand.<br><br>The institute kickstarted the Green Revolution in the 1960s that boosted harvests of the staple food for nearly half the world's 6.8 billion population.<br>
<br><strong><em>VITAMIN A DEFICIENCY</em></strong><br>The availability of Golden Rice, which contains genes from maize and other sources of beta-carotene, was expected to address the deficiency of the micronutrient, Vitamin A, especially among the poor in Asia.<br>
<br>Over 90 million children in Southeast Asia suffer from Vitamin A deficiency, more than in any other region, according to IRRI, and the introduction of Golden Rice in the Philippines may be largely meant to benefit public health instead of boosting yields to curb imports.<br>
<br>China's newly approved pest-resistant variety could be used for up to 40 percent of the rice crop in the country, the world's top producer and consumer of the grain.<br><br><strong><em>PRESSURE ON RICE SUPPLY</em></strong><br>
Zeigler said there is continuing pressure on global rice supply with a reduced amount of both water and land available for rice production which should prompt concern and study.<br><br>The El Nino weather anomaly, which can induce drier weather in Asia, is also a threat to production, he said.<br>
<br>"We need to have a combination of sound government policies to develop rice supplies and these policies need to be based on solid scientific research," said Zeigler.<br><br><strong>------------------------------------------------------------</strong><br>
<strong>2-RP STILL A BIOTECH 'MEGA COUNTRY'</strong><br>by Rudy A. Fernandez <br>15-March-2010 </font><a href="http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=558020&publicationSubCategoryId=66" target="_blank"><font color="#0000ff" size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">The Philippine Star</font></a><br>
<br><font size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">LOS BAÑOS, Laguna, Philippines — Still a biotechnology “mega-country”.<br><br>The Philippines planted genetically modified (GM) corn in 450,00 hectares in 2009, sustaining its ranking in the league of the world’s biotech “mega-countries”.<br>
<br>A mega-country is one that plants biotech or GM crops in 50,000 ha or more, as qualified by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).<br><br>New York (USA)-based ISAAA is a not-for-profit organization with an international network of centers designed to contribute to the alleviation of hunger and poverty by sharing knowledge and crop biotechnology applications. The network includes the Southeast Asian Center based in Los Baños.<br>
<br>Dr. Clive James, ISAAA founder and current board chairman, reported that the Philippines devoted 450,000 ha to Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) corn last year, up from 350,000 ha in 2008.<br><br>The Philippines initially planted Bt maize in 10,769 ha in 2003 when the crop was approved by the government for commercialization.<br>
<br>Dr. James reported the big strides of GM crops at a recent science forum billed “Global Overview of Biotech/GM Crops 2009: Current Status, Impact, and Future Prospects” held at the Dusit Thani Manila Hotel in Makati City.<br>
<br>Attended by scientists, researchers, academics, industry representatives, and media people, the seminar was dedicated to the late Dr. Norman Borlaug, 1970 Nobel Peace Laureate who was considered the “Father of the Green Revolution”. Dr. Borlaug, a regular visitor of the Philippines over the past few decades, died last Sept. 12 at 95.<br>
<br>“The adoption of biotech maize in the Philippines has increased consistently every year since it was first commercialized in 2003,” ISAAA noted.<br><br>It is the first country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region to implement a biotechnology regulatory system for transgenic crops. The system has also served as a model for other countries in Southeast Asia.<br>
<br>The system was formulated in 1990 with the issuance of Executive Order No. 430 establishing the National Biosafety Committee of the Philippines (NCBP).<br><br>“Future prospects look encouraging, with several ‘homegrown’ biotech products likely to be commercialized possibility that the Philippines might be the first country to commercialize Golden Rice around 2012,” ISAAA said.<br>
<br>The United States still topped the list of biotech “mega-countries” in 2009.<br><br>It planted 64 million hectares of biotech maize, ecosystem, cotton, canola, sugarbeat, alfalfa, papaya, and squash. Devoted for maize was 35.2 million ha (more than the Philippine’s total land area of 30 million ha). Soybean came in second with 31.4 million ha and upland cotton, 3.5 million ha.<br>
<br>Second to the US was Brazil, which planted 21.4 million ha to soybean, maize and cotton. It was followed by Argentina with 21.3 million ha also planted to maize, soybean and cotton.<br><br>India ranked fourth with 8.4 million ha planted to cotton. Canada devoted 8.2 million ha to canola, maize, soybean and sugarbeat.<br>
<br>Completing the top 10 biotech crop producers are China, 3.7 million ha; Paraguay, 2.2 million ha; South Africa, 2.1 million ha; Uruguay, 800,000 ha; and Bolivia, 800,000 ha.<br><br>The Philippines ranked 11th. The other biotech “mega-countries” are Australia, Burkina Faso, Spain, and Mexico.<br>
<br>The other nations that planted biotech crops in 2009 in lesser areas were Chile, Colombia, Honduras, Czech Republic, Portugal, Poland, Costa Rica, Egypt, and Slovakia.<br><br><strong>------------------------------------------------------------</strong><br>
</font><font size="2"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong>3-FILIPINA IS FIRST ASEAN WINNER OF L’ORÉAL-UNESCO SCIENCE AWARD<br></strong>by Rowena C. Burgos <br>14-March-2010 </font></font><a href="http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/sundaylifestyle/sundaylifestyle/view/20100314-258476/Filipina-is-first-Asean-winner-of-LOral-Unesco-Science-Award" target="_blank"><font color="#0000ff" size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Philippine Daly Inquirer</font></a><br>
<br><font size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Biochemist Lourdes Jansuy Cruz’s study on snail toxin has led to the development of non-addictive morphine<br><br>PROF. LOURDES JANSUY Cruz was sleeping soundly when the call came at midnight. After she hung up the phone, she tried to sleep again but could not.<br>
<br>“I got the call from the L’Oréal Foundation program secretariat in Paris. I was informed that the jury for the selection of the award just finished their deliberation and that the jury chairman wanted to talk to me. I was very happy after that talk [that I couldn’t go back to sleep],” Cruz said.<br>
<br>Before she was chosen as one of the five laureates for the 2010 L’Oréal-Unesco For Women in Science Awards, many would have described Cruz as a typical working woman. A biochemist at Marine Science Institute of the University of the Philippines, she split her time between teaching and laboratory work before she retired last year.<br>
<br>But “typical” no longer applies. Cruz, 67, is the first Filipino recipient of the L’Oréal-Unesco award and the first awardee from the Asean region.<br><br>Recognized for her role in discovering Conotoxins (toxins from marine snails) during the 1970s to the ’80s, Cruz was directly involved in isolating peptides (a chain of amino acids which are the building blocks of proteins) from the venom of Conus snails found in the Philippines.<br>
<br>One of these peptides was developed by the US biotechnology firm Cognetix Corp. (later bought by Elan Pharmaceuticals) to produce the non-addictive drug Prialt Ziconotodine (primary alternative to morphine).<br><br>“It’s very potent, and it does not have the side effects of morphine like drowsiness, light-headedness, euphoria, dry mouth and fatigue,” Cruz said.<br>
<br><strong><em>Five laureates</em></strong><br>Cruz is one of the five laureates this year, chosen from nearly 1,000 nominees all over the world, selected by a jury led by Nobel Prize winner Gunter Blobel. The awards, launched in 1998, aim to encourage scientific research among women scientists.<br>
<br>This year’s other four laureates are: Rashika El Ridi (Africa and the Arab States), professor at Cairo University in Egypt, for paving the way towards the development of a vaccine against the tropical disease Schistomiasis/Bilharzia; Elaine Fuchs (North America), professor at Rockefeller University in the US, for her contributions to skin biology and skin stem cells; Anne Dejean-Assémat (Europe), professor at Pasteur Institute in France, for her contributions to our understanding of leukemia and liver cancers; and Alejandra Bravo (Latin America), professor at the Institute of Molecular Microbiology of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma in Mexico, for her work on a bacterial toxin that acts as powerful insecticide.<br>
<br>The laureates each received $100,000 (P4.6 million) in prize money and were honored at an awards ceremony last March 4 at the Unesco headquarters in Paris. The prestigious award is given to one exceptional female scientist per continent every year. In 12 years, the program has recognized 62 laureates, 150 international fellows, 700 national fellows.<br>
<br><strong><em>Passion for science</em></strong><br>Born to a family of scientists—her father Ramon Cruz was research director for the Philippine Sugar Institute and Canlubang Sugar Estate, and sister Teresita is a chemist—Cruz knew her passion was in the lab.<br>
<br>“Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to get into science. My first science course in college was really very interesting for me,” she said.<br><br>After taking up Chemistry at UP, Cruz worked as research aide at the International Rice Research Institute in Ilocos Norte where she studied rice quality with Dr. Bienvenido Juliana.<br>
<br>Though she had officially retired from the academe, she stayed on to handle classes at the UP Marine Science Institute and continues to advise students on their scientific dissertations.<br><br>Cruz wants to work as long as she can, just like her father, who worked into his 80s.<br>
<br><strong><em>Snail toxins</em></strong><br>Cruz has written over 130 scientific papers on various topics, including rice grains, amino acids and proteins, and prawns. She is also part of a team studying harmful algal blooms in the Philippines that involve paralytic shellfish poisoning or “red tide.”<br>
<br>But her most famous discovery is the marine snail toxin that garnered numerous awards for Cruz and her partner in the project, Dr. Baldomero Olivera.<br><br>The scientists thought they would be done with the research in two years, expecting that the snails would yield only one or two active components—just like snake venom.<br>
<br>“But it turns out that the snail venom contains many, many other components that affect nerves and muscles. So the study branched off and got extended until 1985 and onwards,” she said.<br><br>Research on Conotoxins is ongoing, with collaborations among Cruz’s graduate students and foreign universities.<br>
<br><strong><em>Rural Linc</em></strong><br>In addition to her devotion to lab work, Cruz is also committed to helping society.<br><br>In 2001, she started the Rural Livelihood Incubator (Rural Linc) with the help of volunteers and private funding. Rural Linc strives to create jobs and fight poverty and sociopolitical instability over the long term in rural Philippines.<br>
<br>“As a citizen of the Philippines, I am very concerned about the persistent high poverty level in rural areas, particularly among disadvantaged communities such as the indigenous tribes, women farmers and fisher folks.”<br>
<br>Cruz’s vision has been to use science and technology as tool to alleviate poverty among communities where scientists usually work.<br><br>Under the project, a team of scientists—from anthropologists to taxonomists—work with Aetas to develop the tribe’s history, genealogy, area maps of their ancestral domains, and studies on the medicinal plants that Aetas have been using to cure diseases (like rattan that is used for diarrhea).<br>
<br>“These are untapped wealth. I think one of the tricks of conservation is to try to find uses for them. For example, wild trees like bugnay (wild berry trees) and duhat (black plum) used to be chopped down for charcoal so they would die off. Now, they saw they could earn money from them,” Cruz said.<br>
<br>Rural Linc also teaches Aetas skills like commercial bee-keeping and makes indigenous people aware of their rights over natural resources in their area by translating the Indigenous People’s Rights Act to the Aetas’ dialect.<br>
<br>Determined to improve the lives of individuals in her community, Cruz plans to use the L’Oréal-UNESCO Award money to buy a piece of land to serve as new base for Rural Linc, and site for the women’s fruit processing facility that will preserve local heritage. “This project involves building a fruit processing facility run by women farmers, where the indigenous tribes can sell fruits from the orchards and forest trees.”<br>
<br>A woman and a scientist who never loses sight of the need to solve practical problems to improve people’s lives, Cruz is very active in addressing poverty in the Philippines: “After devoting all my time to a relatively productive scientific career, I asked myself what have I really done to help my country and my countrymen, particularly the poor communities?”<br>
<br>To those who want to be successful in their scientific careers, Cruz advises to learn how to get funds. “You need this for your research, so it’s a must to earn writing grants and getting your works published.”<br><br>
Cruz tells the young, who have an aptitude in science, never to give up. “In addition to the salary, there are so many intangible benefits that go with it.”<br><br><strong>------------------------------------------------------------</strong><br>
</font><font size="2"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong>CHINA<br>4-GM GRAIN STILL 'LONG DISTANCE AWAY' <br></strong>by Shan Juan and Wu Jiao (China Daily)<br>11-March-2010 </font></font><a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010npc/2010-03/11/content_9570242.htm" target="_blank"><font color="#0000ff" size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">China Daily</font></a><br>
<br><font size="2"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong><em>Rice strains still require certification from health, quality inspection departments</em></strong><br><br>BEIJING: Genetically modified (GM) foods still have a long way to go before they reach the Chinese market even though the Ministry of Agriculture has certificated two strains of GM rice, a senior rural affairs official said on Wednesday.<br>
<br>Before reaching the shelves, the products need to be certified by government agencies from the health and quality inspection sectors, Chen Xiwen, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and deputy director of the Central Rural Work Leading Group, said during a panel discussion in Beijing.<br>
<br>Any of these agencies might stop the GM rice from entering the market, he said.<br><br>"As a country with a huge population to feed, China should maintain its leading role in the research of advanced agricultural technology," Chen said, adding that the country needs to be prudent in GM production.<br>
<br>GM safety is a hot issue at the NPC and CPPCC sessions, under way in the capital.<br><br>In November, the Ministry of Agriculture granted bio-safety certificates to two pest-resistant GM rice varieties and corn - a major step in promoting the research and planting of GM crops. It has became major news given the sensitivity of the issue, coupled with the fact that China is a major rice producer.<br>
<br>China is also the first country in the world that has given a nod to GM staple food, which experts say will pave the way for large-scale commercial cultivation of GM crops.<br><br>At the height of the debate on human and bioenvironmental safety of GM farming, a senior official spoke out in favor of the biotechnology.<br>
<br>"The application and research on GM agriculture is definitely the future trend in China and is among strategic measures to strive for more competitive agriculture through technology," Wei Chaoan, vice-minister of agriculture, said at a press conference.<br>
<br><strong><em>Worries over biosafety</em></strong><br>There has been widespread speculation on when GM staples, particularly rice, would be available on the menu, as worries over consumer safety continue to grow.<br><br>
"The certificates, based on fair safety evaluation, won't mean GM rice would be commercially planted immediately. It will require production trials and registration," he said.<br><br>Wei revealed that the applications for the two rice strains were filed 11 and six years ago respectively.<br>
<br>"The process will be handled according to law in a careful and transparent manner," he pledged, adding that China has so far neither approved commercial cultivation nor imports of GM grain.<br><br>Besides, China has never approved GM seed imports, he stressed, despite the fact that the country's traditional soybean industry is getting seriously damaged due to huge GM soybean imports.<br>
<br>"Other farm produce like GM papaya, soybean oil, tomatoes and potatoes, however, began to hit the market around 2000 after government approval, many without proper labeling, which is required by the law," said Fang Lifeng, spokesman for Greenpeace China's GM program.<br>
<br>The debate on GM foods began back then, but peaked in late 2009, when the GM rice and corn bio-safety certificates were issued.<br><br><strong><em>Opposing opinions</em></strong><br>Yuan Longping, a leading agricultural scientist, warned last week that health implications of some GM crops, especially the anti-pest strains, remain unclear. He said such crops need to undergo human trials for at least one or two generations.<br>
<br>However, Huang Dafang, a member of the bio-safety committee affiliated to the ministry, responded that GM crops need no human trial at all.<br><br>"Previous animal testing has already showed that the crops are as safe to grow and eat as non-GM ones," he said.<br>
<br>"In three to five years, the homegrown GM rice will hit the market. The project will not be affected by unsubstantiated safety criticism, largely based on emotion and fuelled by media hype," he asserted.<br>
<br>China now yields around 500 million tons of grain annually. With the population expected to increase to 1.6 billion by 2020, 630 million tons of grain will be needed, experts said.<br><br>"The approved GM rice, which could reduce current pesticide use by 80 percent while increasing present yields by 6 percent, would greatly help meet the demand," Huang said.<br>
<br>Besides scientific value, developing GM agriculture is also of great economic and political importance, said Chen Wenfu, director of the rice research institute of Shenyang Agricultural University.<br><br>"All countries, including China, are doing research on the high-end technology, which might lead to a new agricultural landscape worldwide," Chen, a CPPCC member, told China Daily.<br>
<br>In mid-2008, China approved a 4-billion-yuan ($586 million) budget for GM crop research in the coming years to produce high-quality, high-yield and pest-resistant GM crop species, Xinhua reported.<br><br>On March 2, the European Commission, which boasts the strictest laws on GM application, approved a GM potato to be grown, though not for human consumption. It was only the second GM product to be given a green light in Europe.<br>
<br>"The commercial cultivation and release of GM crops should be done extremely carefully," Chen said.<br><br>"Given unknown health impacts from GM food, it's good for China to take the lead in GM research rather than in eating GM food," he said.<br>
<br>Besides, due to a lack of a sound food safety supervision network and limited capacity in GM food examination, China is not ready to commercialize GM crops, experts said.<br><br><strong>------------------------------------------------------------</strong><br>
</font></font><font size="2"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong>EUROPE<br>5-SCIENTISTS FIND NEW WAY TO HELP CROPS FIGHT PESTS<br></strong>by Kate Kelland<br>14-March-2010 </font></font><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=10097962" target="_blank"><font color="#0000ff" size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">ABC News</font></a><br>
<br><font size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">LONDON (Reuters) - An international team of scientists has managed to transfer disease resistance from one plant family to another, offering broader protection from potentially costly and destructive pests.<br>
<br>A team led by Cyril Zipfel at Britain's Sainsbury Laboratory found that transferring a single gene from a wild plant to disease-susceptible crop plants made them more robust against infections like bacterial wilt and other diseases.<br>
<br>If the results can be duplicated more widely, they could help prevent massive crop losses and avoid environmental, health and financial costs associated with using pesticides, the researchers wrote in the Nature Biotechnology journal on Sunday.<br>
<br>"The implications for engineering crop plants with enhanced resistance to infectious diseases are very promising," Sophien Kamoun, head of the Sainsbury Laboratory, said in a commentary.<br><br>The team is already extending its work to several crop plants, including potato, apple, cassava and banana -- all of which suffer from damaging bacterial diseases, particularly in the developing world.<br>
<br>The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) said last year that bacterial wilt disease had been found in bananas in Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.<br>
<br>Uganda, Africa's leading banana grower and consumer, has suffered with the disease since 2001 and it causes losses of between $70 million and $200 million annually, according to CGIAR.<br><br>Zipfel's team, which included Dutch, French and American researchers, explained in the study that breeding programs for plant disease resistance usually focus on single genes in crop plants that could fight a particular strain of bug.<br>
<br>This resistance usually breaks down in field-grown crops as the pest finds ways to outwit the plant.<br><br>The new study focused on an immune receptor gene called a pattern recognition receptor (PRR) which is activated by many bacterial bugs but is not normally found in potato or tomato plant families.<br>
<br><strong>------------------------------------------------------------</strong><br></font><font size="2"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong>GLOBAL<br>6-BIOTECH CROPS' GLOBAL VALUE HITS $10.5 BILLION IN 2009 <br>
</strong>by Rudy Fernandez <br>08-March-2010 </font></font><a href="http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleid=555836" target="_blank"><font color="#0000ff" size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">The Philippine Star</font></a><br>
<br><font size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">MANILA, Philippines - The global market value of biotechnology or genetically modified (GM) crops hit the $10 billion mark in 2009, up from $9 billion in 2008.<br><br>Last year’s $10.5 billion represented 20 percent of the $52.2 billion global crop protection market in 2009 and 30 percent of the about $34 billion commercial seed market.<br>
<br>The value of the biotech crop market for 2010 is projected at more than $11 billion.<br><br>The accumulated global value for the 12-year period since biotech crops were first commercialized in 1996 is estimated at $62.3 billion, reported the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).<br>
<br>New York-based ISAAA is a not-for-profit organization with an international network of centers designed to contribute to the alleviation of hunger and poverty by sharing knowledge and crop biotechnology applications. The network includes the Southeast Asian Center based in Los Baños, Laguna.<br>
<br>Dr. Clive James, ISAAA founder and current board chairman, reported the significant strides of biotechnology or GM crops at a recent seminar billed “Global Overview of Biotech/GM Crops 2009; Current Status, Impact, and Future Prospect” hold at the Dusit Thani, Manila Hotel in Makati City.<br>
<br>Attended by scientists, academics, the biotechnology sector, and members of the print and broadcast media, the seminar was dedicated to the late Dr. Norman Borlaug, 1970 Nobel Peace Laureate who was acclaimed as the “Father of the Green Revolution.” Borlaug, a regular visitor to the Philippines over the past three decades and a friend of the late Philippine STAR founding publisher Max V. Soliven, died last September at age 95.<br>
<br>Others who spoke at the seminar were National Scientist Dr. Gelia T. Castrillo; Dr. Emil Q. Javier, former Science Minister and University of the Philippines System president and now president of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST); and Dr. Randy Hautea, ISAAA global coordinator.<br>
<br>Dr. James reported that the $10.5 billion biotechnology crop market in 2009 comprised $5.2 billion for biotech maize equivalent to 50 percent of the global biotech crop market; $3.9 billion for biotech soybean (37.2 percent); $1.1 billion for biotech cotton; and $300,000 for biotech canola.<br>
<br>A big chunk ($8.2 billion or 78 percent) of the 2009 $10.5 billion biotech crop market was dominated by industrial countries while $2.3 billion was accounted by developing countries.<br><br>“The market value of the global biotech crop market is based on the sale price of biotech seed plus any technology fees that apply,” stated the ISAAA report.<br>
<br>The ISAAA estimates do not include the market for biotech crops, which have greater market value and are difficult to assess directly. However, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service reports that 80 to 90 percent of all corn, soy and cotton grown in the US is biotech transgenic.<br>
<br>As in the previous years, the US topped the 25 countries that planted biotech crops in 2009.<br><br>Last year, the US devoted 64 million hectares (acre than twice the Philippine land area of 30 million ha) to biotech maize, soybean, cotton, wheat, sugarcane, sugarbeat, alfalfa, canola, papaya and squash.<br>
<br>Brazil, for the first time, overtook Argentina in area planted to GM crops – 21.4 million ha as against Argentina’s 21.3 million ha.<br><br>The other top 10 biotech crop producers in 2009 were India, 8.4 million ha; Canada, 8.2 million ha; China, 3.7 ha; Paraguay, 2.2 million ha; South Africa, 2.1 million ha, Uruguay, 800,000 ha; and Bolivia, 800,000.<br>
<br>The Philippines ranked 11th, with 490,000 ha planted to Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) corn; followed by Australia, which devoted 230,000 ha to biotech cotton and biotech canola.<br></font><br><a class="footer"><font color="#666666" size="1" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">To post in e-group, e-mail </font></a><a href="mailto:bic@searcaweb.org" target="_blank"><font color="#0000ff" size="1" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">bic@searcaweb.org</font></a><font color="#008000" size="1" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">.<br>
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