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Insect-Resistant Corn Boosts Farmers Income

September 02, 2009

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Learn how insect-protected biotech corn helps Philippine farmers double their yields and reduce spraying cost.

By Produce More Conserve More

In the tropical Philippines, one-third of farmers rely on corn production as their major income source. But huge infestations of Asian corn borers can reduce crop yields by more than one-fourth and force farmers to control them with costly insecticide sprays. Farmer Seferino Cosme says with conventional methods, his fields yielded just three metric tons per 2.5 acres. “So I only got a little” income, says the father of 13.

Farmer in a corn field.

But in 2003, when he began planting insect-protected biotech corn, Cosme and other farmers began reaping corn yields more than double earlier yields while also reducing their spraying costs. Corn borer damage declined substantially, [1] as did stalk and ear rot. [2] “Biotech corn is the key,” Cosme says. “Since I started planting biotech corn, our family has become more financially comfortable, and with that follows other comforts in life.”

A September 2006 study of results from conventional and biotech corn seed published in The Philippine Agricultural Scientist found that yields from biotech corn farms increased by as much as 37 percent, translating to an additional profit of $225 (U.S. dollars) per 2.5 acres [3] — with just over half of that improvement coming from reduced pesticide costs. [4]

Since 2003, more than 500,000 acres in the Philippines have been planted with biotech seeds and new traits are coming to market. The positive effects are substantial for biotech farmers’ families. “With better incomes, corn farmers are not only able to send their children to school, their overall standard of living has also improved,” says Jesus Gavino, who farms 30 acres of corn and rice with his family of five children.

1. “Economic Impact of Bt Corn in the Philippines,” Jose M. Yorobe Jr. and Cesar B. Quicoy, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, volume 89, No. 3, pages 258-267.
2. “Reduced Incidence of Bacterial Rot on Transgenic Insect-Resistant Maize in the Philippines,” Samuel C. Dalmacio and Tomas R. Lugod, Plant Disease, September 2007, volume 91, No. 4, pages 346-351.
3. 1 U.S. dollar equals 45 Philippine pesos.
4. “Economic Impact of Bt Corn in the Philippines,” et al.

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