A study contends that 96 percent of Filipino farmers are willing to shift to a genetically modified (GM) eggplant and are willing to pay double the seed price if it means a substantial cut in spending on pesticide.
The study, featured in a book launched last month by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture, refers to the GM eggplant which have been genetically modified to resist infestations of the fruit and shoot borer. The said moth species is considered the most damaging pest attacking eggplants in South-East and South Asia. Its larvae feed inside the eggplant, making the fruit unmarketable and unfit for human consumption. At times, yield loss could be total.
The majority of eggplant farmers, the study says, had no prior knowledge of GM eggplant yet expressed an interest in adopting it when informed of its resistance to fruit and shoot borers.
But while proponents consider the GM eggplant ideal for pest management and say it is non-toxic to humans, opponents of genetically modified organisms (GMO) say otherwise.
Read the full original article: Philippine Farmers ‘Keen’ On GM Eggplants When Informed
