Sunrise of Hope for Small-Scale Biotech Farmers

The poet Jean Marble makes a plea in behalf of farmers:

Make sunrise early and the sunset wait;
Make summer early and the winter late!
Allow the crops to sprout and thrive
And give hope to man the drive.

Indeed, farming is a profession that builds on hope and optimism – that pests and diseases, vagaries of weather, and other challenges to growing plants will not stop farmers from experiencing higher yield, better productivity, and enhanced quality of life for their families and communities. A cotton farmer, for instance, waits for about 4 to 5 months for the seed to grow and mature into a plant bursting with bolls. He is uncertain whether nature will reward or punish him for his effort, time, and investment. He can only wait and pray.

But scientists have been seeking alternative and modern solutions to overcome such a scenario. These include biotech or genetically modified (GM) crops that have improved attributes such as insect resistance and herbicide tolerance. The first biotech crops were planted in 1996. Currently, over 17 million farmers are planting biotech soybean, maize, cotton, and canola, among others. While it is generally perceived that only farmers from developed countries are reaping the benefits of modern biotechnology, about 85% of farmers planting biotech crops are actually small landholders in the developing countries of China, India, and the Philippines.

The Adoption and Uptake Pathways of Biotech Crops by Small-Scale, Resource-Poor Asian Farmers: Comparative Studies in China, India, and the Philippines project was spearheaded by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) in collaboration with the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy (CCAP), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the Indian Society of Cotton Improvement (ISCI) and the College of Development Communication at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (CDC-UPLB). The study sought to answer the following questions: Who are the biotech farmers? What are the factors that farmers consider in adopting biotech crops? How have they benefitted from adopting the technology? Who influenced them in adopting biotech crops?

The three-country research looked at farmers from Hebei, Shandong, Anhui, and Henan provinces in China located in the Huang-Huai-Hai cotton production zone; cotton-growing states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab in India; and maize-growing provinces of Pampanga, Iloilo and South Cotabato in the Philippines.

Who are the farmers using GM crops?

The study provides insights on a new breed of farmers as a result of biotech crops. While Bt cotton production is still a male-dominated activity in China, more and more women are getting involved in planting operations, They are attracted to the benefits of growing Bt cotton as there is less labor involved than would otherwise be needed for pesticide applications.

Filipino males dominate the planting process, but wives are major decision makers in the choice of crop to plant and farming methods to adopt since they control the input costs and spending. In Indian households, planting of Bt cotton has become a family affair with the household head, taking the more strenuous activities and mothers and children helping to pick and clean cotton bolls.

In India, it is a significant sign that Bt cotton is attracting the young with over 50% in the 21-40 age bracket among those surveyed in the cotton-growing areas of Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharasthra.

Interestingly, in the Philippines, even college graduates are venturing into GM maize production as it has become a viable income-generating alternative. Farmers in China and the Philippines report two to three times higher incomes from planting GM crops while Indian farmers obtain twice the income over traditional varieties. 

Reasons for Adoption of GM crops

The principal reasons why farmers adopt GM crops are higher economic and yield benefits, freedom or reduced infestations from cotton bollworm or corn borer, and dramatic reduction in pesticide use and frequency of spraying. Other facilitating factors include the presence of private traders that sell seeds and provide capital loans as well as trust and stronger ties among farmers that contributed to the information flow on biotech crops. 

Similar to other technologies, there are also factors that limit or slow down adoption of biotech crops. Foremost are lack of capital and the high cost of farm inputs, especially in India and the Philippines. Influence of skeptical elders and church groups with regard biotech crops in these two countries was also a limiting factor. In the initial years of commercialization in China, local seed companies could not meet the demand for biotech seeds. Delayed adoption was also attributed to limited access to information about the new technology and inadequate government support.

Uptake Pathways of GM Crops

As revealed in focus group discussions, early adopting farmers in India and the Philippines take the risk of a new technology by trying out a biotech crop which they initially heard about from a demonstration field trial set up by seed companies or from progressive village leaders. Other farmers in the community take a ‘wait and see’ attitude, they take time to see how things progress, but become easily motivated to try the new crop after seeing convincing results of higher yields and bountiful harvests from the early adopters.

Early adopters share biotech crop know-how with their relatives and peers through  personal interactions. This is due to the prevailing strong peer system among farmers and the belief that they owe it to themselves and their fellow farmers to share what would benefit everyone in the community (Figure 1).

Figure 1. General pattern of adoption and uptake pathway of biotech crops in China, India, and the Philippines

In China, village cadres coordinate with technicians to arrange training and convince farmers to participate in farm-related activities. Facilitating factors for early adoption are: 1) support from trusted village leaders on GM crop production; 2) close ties among farmers; and 3) avoidance of heavy losses incurred by farmers in cultivating non-GM crops. 

It is not surprising, therefore, that farmer adoption of Bt cotton is now more than 95% of total cotton production in China and India, while 80% of Filipino yellow corn farmers are planting biotech maize.

It must have been biotech crops that poet Carrie Richards was referring to when she said:

Ploughs and pastures, furrows and frowns

Rows of seeds, for miles and miles

A crop, a harvest, to table, and smiles.

For the full research reports, visit www.isaaa.org

How Biotech Corn Transformed a Farmer’s Life and Made Him the Community’s VIP

Ryan Lising, 39, has lived all his life in a farming community in Mandani, Magalang, Pampanga, one of seven provinces in Central Luzon, Philippines. 

Like his father before him, Ryan is a corn farmer, and corn is his family’s main source of income. Corn gives him money not only to send his four children to school, but also to help him expand his business and buy his own farm machinery. His crop also allows him to assist other corn farmers in their community. But unlike his father who planted white corn before him, Ryan plants biotech corn now — a crop that has made him an important person in their community.

Planting biotech corn has made Filipino farmer Ryan Lising an important person in his community. 
(Photo by Ian Mari Reaño)

‘It was never enough’

Before he ventured into farming, Ryan worked as a messenger and errand boy for some of the big corn farms in Mandani. When his motorcycle was stolen, he felt that he lost his family's livelihood, too.

He was helpless without the motorcycle that allowed him to move faster around the community, doing his job. Ryan then became a farmhand, working on different farms doing all available work.

“I used to wake up at four in the morning to look for work. I went from one farm to the next, hoping to get a job that will help me feed my family.”

Despite Ryan's perseverance and hard work to provide for his young family of four, it seemed that "it was just never enough".

In 1996, after participating in a corn farm demonstration, Ryan sought his father's help so he could plant white corn in the family's 1.5 hectare farmland. His income improved a bit, but his crop challenged him.

"White corn is very laborious to plant. It needs more insecticides and we need to apply granular insecticide to each plant on a daily basis depending on the level of infestation."

The challenges continued to chase him, including the low selling price of corn, on top of the relentless pests, and the high prices of insecticides needed to control them.

New life

Years went by and Ryan’s struggles with farming remained unabated. Change came in 2003 after the Philippine government approved the commercial planting of Bt corn in the country.

Ryan became one of the early adopters of Bt corn when it was introduced by seed company technicians in Mandani in 2003. Though uncertain about the new corn that the technicians introduced in the farm demonstration, his frustrations with white corn - his crop then - urged him to try it.

Following his first Bt corn harvest, it became clear to Ryan that there was no turning back. He knew that it was the beginning of a new life for him and his family, who has faced so many hardships in trying to make ends meet.

“When I realized that I will earn more if I plant Bt corn, I decided to add two more children to my brood. Sending my children to school was not that difficult anymore.”

When stacked traits corn was approved for commercial planting in the country, Ryan did not hesitate to plant it on his farm which has grown from 1.5 to more than 20 hectares.

“I have a new motorcycle now to replace the stolen one, and I was able to buy my own farm machines. I have two trucks and two tractors, and I am getting a new, bigger tractor soon.”

Ryan also has more time to spend with his family because he does not need to spend a lot of time on his farm. He also found other means of livelihood in their community.

A portion of Ryan's farm in Mandani, Magalang, Pampanga. (Photo by Ian Mari Reaño)

'An important man'

A decade of planting biotech corn has changed Ryan’s and his family’s life. His increased and steady income from planting biotech corn allowed him to explore other business opportunities.

He says that nowadays, he still wakes up at four in the morning, but not to look for work anymore.

“I go to different corn farms in our village to see their corn. I am now a corn buyer.”

Ryan uses his two trucks to transport the corn that he buys from the various farms in their village. He also buys and transports other agricultural produce such as sweet corn and vegetables, and helps the people in their village by providing them with jobs, an undertaking that makes him proud.

“Biotech corn changed my life completely. After years of planting it, I am now an important man.”

Ryan Lising is one of 397,500 farmers in the Philippines who is growing and enjoying the benefits of biotech corn in 2013. The Philippines is among the 27 countries in the world and one of the six developing countries in Asia (including India, China, Pakistan, Myanmar, and Bangladesh), that are commercially planting biotech crops.