Fifteen years after Bt corn commercialization in the Philippines, corn produced through agri-biotechnology has been planted in about 0.7 million hectares in the country (ISAAA, 2015). So far, it is the only biotech crop approved for commercial production by Filipino farmers.
Biotech crops are genetically modified (GM) or transgenic crops that have "novel combination of genetic material obtained through the use of modern agri-biotechnology" (ISAAA, 2014). Agri-biotechnology is defined as “a set of tools that uses living organisms or parts of organisms to make, modify a product, or improve plants, trees and animals (ISAAA, 2010). These may include breeding techniques, bioinformatics, microbiology, molecular genetics, biochemistry, plant physiology, and molecular biology. Belying the misconception about it, agri-biotechnology does not intend to replace the conventional technology, but rather aims to complement it.
Biotech crops have been at the center of heated debates between groups and individuals who believe that GM crops can help address the problem of food security and those who are against it for economic, political, environmental, and health reasons.
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