Search

The Philippines faces an opposition to genetic engineering in agriculture led by a coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs). There is an ongoing public debate which is mainly focused on transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) rice and its potential contribution to future food security in Asia. The present research project evaluated perception patterns among the main participants in the Philippine debate on transgenic rice and the political importance attributed to these participants. For this purpose, a survey of 65 respondents representing the relevant institutions involved in the public debate was conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire. The results suggest that non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other public interest groups are generally not in favour while scientists are generally in favour oftransgenic rice. A majority of the political decision makers has very high expectations with regard to the potential of genetic engineering for solving problems in the Philippine rice economy. However, their attitude with regard to risks and benefits of Bt rice is ambivalent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Philippines is the focal point of an international effort to genetically engineer provitamin A into indica rice. Vitamin A deficiency is a serious problem in parts of the developing world where rice is the major staple food. In Asia alone, over 180 million children and women suffer from vitamin A deficiency. Worldwide, 500,000 children are permanently blinded by the disease each year. Thus, Golden rice seems to represent a pioneering step in the use of biotech to produce a significant impact at the consumer level, more specifically in developing countries. Golden Rice is not the first transgenic rice to be developed in the Philippines: in 2000, the Philippine Rice Research Institute conducted field trials of a rice engineered to carry the Xa21 gene, which conveys resistance to the common rice disease bacterial blight. Implications for Golden rice are obvious: it must demonstrate yields or cost savings equivalent to those of the best currently grown nontransgenic varieties if it is to be successfully introduced and adopted by rice farmers in Nueva Ecija, Philippines. Water efficiency might also be added as a critical trait, as lack of irrigation and water shortage was most frequently cited as the biggest problem facing rice farmers in the area.