We had the opportunity to chat with Sonny Tababa of CropLife Asia and presenter on the Global Product Stewardship panel at BIO about ag biotech outreach efforts in Asia and stewardship in plant biotech.

1. What is the status of ag biotech adoption in Asia?

Adoption of biotech crops in Asia remains vibrant which is reflective of the multiple benefits derived by millions of small-farmers.  In 2008, 10% of the total global area for GM crops or 12 million hectares have been planted to different biotech crops in Australia, China, India, and Philippines.  With functional regulations in place, different Asian countries– notably Korea, China, Japan, and Taiwan– continue to import huge amounts of corn and soybeans from countries that planted biotech corn and soybeans.

2. What are the challenges faced by farmers in Asia?

Access to appropriate production and post-production technologies is a major constraint.  However, there are other non-technological factors like access to credit and markets, infrastructure like farm-to-market roads, access to basic services like health, etc.  Our farmers are resource-challenged and every bit that we can feasibly do to help them improve their situation in life must be done.

3. Rosalie Ellasus, a farmer from the Philippines and a panelist at BIO 2009, said that if Asian countries adopt agriculture biotechnology, it “will boost the economy of each country.” How do you think ag biotech can contribute to the economies of Asian countries?

There are many progressive farmers, like Ms. Ellasus, who tried the new technology-biotech crops and continue to adopt it to this day.  With better protection against insect pests and weeds, yields are much higher by at least 20-30%.  For Bt corn, dramatic increases are observed when there is higher incidence of corn borer in the farms.  This in turn, translates to higher incomes and opportunities to invest in other small businesses by farmers.  For instance, farmers can have ‘extra’ income that they can use to buy small farm implements, or buffalos for hire, or to start a small piggery business.  Or, use some amounts for home improvement, or to support the continuing education of their children.  With a bit more purchasing power in farming communities, benefits domino to local or community businesses. 

4. In your panel description you discuss the “importance of stewardship in plant biotechnology and the industry’s lifecycle approach to stewardship.” What do you mean by “stewardship” in plant biotechnology and what is its importance?

Stewardship is taking care of what is entrusted.  The plant science industry commits to develop high quality plant biotechnology products and promote its safe and responsible use.  Lifecycle approach to stewardship means an ‘inception to a life beyond’ approach of ensuring that our pledge of commitment is being met.  For instance, during the gene discovery phase, our scientists examine the source of each gene and the potential for allergenicity and toxicity.  Many of these genes do not see commercial light if found too risky.  Also, all of our member-companies support and comply with biosafety rules and regulations of importing and cultivating countries.  We support farmers and their responsible use of the technology during provision of technology via integrated pest and weed management and even after when technology has been provided so that the longevity of the technology can be maintained.  We work with farmers and regulators in insect resistance and weed resistance management programs.

The New York Times Green Inc covers the three-day Princeton University conference — “Feeding a Hot and Hungry Planet: The Challenge of Making More Food and Fewer Greenhouse Gases.“  The use of corn, cotton and soybean crops that are genetically modified to be resistant to certain pests or herbicides is already widespread in many parts of the world, so all the big issues were on the table — including whether genetically modified crops are “sustainable.”  Dr. Wayne Parrott, who spoke at the BIO International Conference  this year, is at Princeton for the conference and is quoted in the Green Inc piece.

Excerpt from the story:

Meanwhile, Carl Pray, a professor in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics at Rutgers University, presented findings that show the use of cotton engineered to contain a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis — known as Bt cotton — has resulted in significantly reduced pesticide use in China, and dramatically increased yields in India. (The modified cotton is pest-resistant.)

But others at the conference said that, in the bigger picture, genetically modified crops have failed to live up to their early promise. “The benefits have not yet been that great from the environmental standpoint, or even from a production standpoint,” according to Tim Searchinger, a research scholar at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. “At least from published studies, Bt cotton is it.”

Others experts, including Wayne Parrott, a plant genomics researcher at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, called for patience. “We’re in the era of the first black and white television,” Mr. Parrott said. “We haven’t gotten to color televisions, and we’re nowhere near a flat-screen yet.”

Rosalie Ellasus, a farmer from San Jacinto, Philippines, who answered some questions for us by email from the Philippines:

Please tell us about yourself and your farm.
I am a 49 year old lady farmer, widow with 3 sons, Medical Technology graduate from San Jacinto, Pangasinan, Philippines. A Zero Knowledge in farming, I started tilling 1.3 hectares of agri land in 2001 that I acquired from my savings from being an Overseas Foreign Worker and rose up to 10 hectares to date. In the beginning I was a plain receiver of 25% share, but am now a hands-on farmer. Learning farming from the Department of Agriculture Corn Program called IPM-FFS (Integrated Pest Management - Farmers’ Field School), I became a very active farmer leader in my town, elected as National President of Philmaize Federation, Inc in 2006, and won as town councilor in the 2007 local election.

You wrote in the description of your panel presentation that agricultural biotechnology has “changed my life like magic in just a few years.” What do you mean by that?
My journey toward Biotechnology farming started in 2002 after visiting a demo trial of BT Corn in a nearby town. I was challenged and intrigued with the outcome of the trial, and little did I know it did change my life like “magic”. My willingness and openness to technology gave me the opportunity to gain the greener pasture I’d been looking for in a foreign country for 11 years. In fact, this year I just finished transacting to lease 20 hectares that will add up to my present 10 hectares of agri land to be planted all with stacked corn again. Not to mention my being an Ambassadress of Biotechnology in Asia, which I never dreamed of. My passion for Biotech farming then rewarded me an International recognition, being the 1st recipient of the “Kleckner Trade & Technology Advancement Award” in 2007 at Des Moines, Iowa during the World Food Prize.

How is agricultural biotechnology changing farming in the Philippines?
Philippines being the first country in Asia to have a biotechnology crop for food and feed approved for commercialization greatly showed significant development for farmers by attaining higher yield, thereby becoming profitable, reducing pesticide use and helping the country attain sufficiency in grain. Adoption of biotech corn in particular has increased consistently since it was first commercialized delivering economic, environmental, health and social benefits to all kinds of farmers in the country.

What do you believe is the outlook for greater adoption of agricultural biotechnology in Asia?
Being an Ambassadress of Biotechnology in Asia, I believe that if these 5 countries (Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand) will adopt agricultural biotechnology greatly it will not only boost the economy of each country, but will also become the best quality biotech grains that can feed the growing population on the whole planet.

Dr. Wayne Parrott

Dr. Wayne Parrott is a Professor in the Department of Crop & Soil Sciences at the University of Georgia in Athens. He teaches plant genetics courses at the University as well as a course that focuses on agricultural sustainability. He also runs a laboratory research program which uses biotechnology to improve crops.

Tell us about your work.
My work centers on developing methods to genetically engineer crops and then to use these crops effectively.

We work on several projects related to soybeans. The one we have been working on the longest is insect resistance, trying to combine both biotech and traditional approaches to come up with insect resistance that is effective, durable and economical. We have started working on nematode resistance. Nematodes are very difficult to control with traditional methods. We are also trying to develop a specialty soybean for use by certain industries such as the poultry or the aquaculture industry.

Additional work is aimed at getting alfalfa to grow on a broader range of soils, and trying to make switchgrass more amenable as a source of cellulosic bioethanol.

You will be on the panel “Plant Biotechnology’s Role in Advancing Sustainable Development.” What is plant biotechnology’s role in advancing sustainable development?
The role that agricultural biotechnology has played in advancing sustainability is unfortunately a very well kept secret.

One of the exciting things about the advent of the biotech crops in the past 10 years is that they have really changed farming practices. Things that were environmentally unfriendly and unsustainable such as plowing are going out the window. If you don’t have to plow as much, you don’t have to burn as much fossil fuel, you don’t produce as many greenhouse gases; your soil won’t erode with rainfall which means you don’t clog up canals, streams and rivers with sediment.

Agriculture biotechnology also means we have been able to eliminate older chemical herbicides classes and replace them with more environmental friendly types. In terms of insecticides we have been able to really cut down on the number of insecticides used, which means we are able to increase the availability of beneficial insects and desirable organisms in the crop fields.

Biotech will be very important in the future as well. In the year 2000 there was about 5 and a half acres that could be used to feed every person on the planet. By the year 2020, when there is projected to be 7 billion people, there will be only 4 and a half acres available to feed every person alive.

In other words, in order to feed the world’s population in the year 2020 we will have to increase production per acre by 40 percent relative to what it was in the year 2000. And we have to do it without cutting down forests and expanding into environmentally sensitive areas, without using more resources such as fuel and water, and while reducing the use of insecticides and fertilizer.

A year ago reports began to appear of the global food crisis. Where are we now?
We are still waiting with bated breath for the next harvest to fail. What brought the last global food crisis on was that there were droughts in a couple of key areas of the world. The droughts demonstrated that in this day-and-age, all that it takes is for one part of the world to have a bad growing season and the rest of the world then faces a food shortage.

The goal of agricultural biotech is to stabilize yield. We have generations of crops coming up that are more drought-tolerant, and stress tolerant in general, so if there is a bad growing season somewhere in the world, the impact on the world food situation should not be as drastic as it was last year.

What would surprise most people about agricultural biotechnology?
There are a lot of groups that position themselves as environmentalists and that oppose genetically modified crops. But, the people who oppose genetically modified crops and those developing genetically modified crops have the same goals in mind, which include: achieving sustainability, promoting the long-term environmental benefits of reducing the use of resources such as fossil fuels and water, securing economic prosperity for agricultural communities, and reducing our environmental footprint. We just differ on the way to achieve these goals. We have 13 years of data from about 25 countries in the world that demonstrate that ag biotech crops are much more environmentally friendly compared to what was done in the past and support the continued use and development of genetically modified crops.

Dr. Robert McDonald, Vanguard Scientist with The Nature Conservancy, took time out of his schedule to answer some questions on his work, his presentation at BIO, and the issues of sustainability and agriculture.

Who are you and what do you do?
I’m the Vanguard Scientist at The Nature Conservancy, which works to preserve the diversity of wildlife and plants on Earth by protecting the habitats and ecological process on which they depend. We work throughout the U.S. and in more than 30 countries, and have about 700 scientists on staff who help us make science-based plans to fulfill our mission. My job is to think about global threats to biodiversity that we may need to do some more science or planning for, and then help us do that! One big part of my job is thinking about global agricultural expansion and intensification in the coming decades, and coming up with conservation strategies that can help minimize the biodiversity impacts of agricultural production.

You have been quoted as saying that “Urban dwellers influence land use on almost every hectare on Earth.” What do you mean by that?
More than half of humanity lives in cities, and that proportion will continue to increase in coming decades. Cities not only directly affect the landscape through urban development, they are also central places of economic consumption and growth. So the needs and desires of urban dwellers end up shaping human land-use over a much broader area. If, for example, newly well-off Chinese city dwellers want to eat more meat, then the Chinese landscape will be reshaped as agricultural producers satisfy that demand. So there is a profound link between what is happening in urban areas and what is happening in rural areas.
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You will be on the panel “Environment, Economy and Society: Plant Biotechnology’s Role in Advancing Sustainable Development.” Would you provide a description of your presentation?
Conservationists use the word “sustainable” to talk about an end point, while agriculturalists use it to talk about a process. The dramatic growth in yields in the 20th century reduced agriculture’s per-bushel impact on the environment, but the total cumulative impact of agriculture on the environment has steadily increased. I will talk about sustainability in agriculture from the perspective of The Nature Conservancy, an international conservation organization that works with agricultural producers in thousands of projects through the U.S. and in more than 30 countries.

What is plant biotechnology’s role in advancing sustainable development?
From my perspective as a conservationist, biotechnology may potentially play two key roles. First, biotechnology may help to continue to increase yield from agricultural crops. As the world will have 2 billion more mouths to feed in 2050, increases in yield can help limit the area of agricultural expansion, which is of significant concern to conservationists. Second, biotechnology may be able to play a role in limiting the environmental impact of production, whether by making plants more water efficient or helping reduce nitrogen run-off from fields.
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With a growing population and finite or shrinking resources, sustainable development seems like an important concept. Can the need to embrace sustainable development capture the attention of the public in the same way as climate change?
The public has always been receptive to the idea that we should leave our children a world as rich in natural resources as we have enjoyed, which is the core idea of sustainable development. In that sense, stopping the worst damage from climate change is the same thing as working for sustainable development. I think it is true, though, that folks can’t get behind sustainable development as an abstract concept, but only are motivated to act when a specific resource they care about is threatened and when they can see the effect in their own lives.