They say a picture is worth 1,000 words. A video of my farm on social media has attracted more than 50,000 views—and counting. It uses the incredible power of images to convey a simple and important truth about the safety, effectiveness, and advantage of Bt corn.
The video is from my mission farm in the Camotes Islands in the Philippines, where I grow mainly yellow corn on about 10 hectares. One of our goals is to show how technology can improve the lives of poor farmers. (Follow @World_Farmers on Twitter here.)
That’s exactly what the video does. It presents a pair of cornfields, side by side. One of them has been devastated by the fall armyworm—a moth larvae with a voracious appetite. The corn plants have been chomped down to their stalks. They will produce nothing. From an agricultural standpoint, they are a total failure.
The field right next to it, however, is lush with corn plants. The green leaves are so thick that you can’t see the ground. This field will produce food. I’ll sell most of it and mill some into grits that my family will eat.
A non BT cornfield vs. BT cornfield. Fall Armyworm destruction. This is an example of how technology wotks contrary to those who demonise the advances in agriculture. @ADAlvarez7 pic.twitter.com/1VlsThg8Hm
— Farmers No Borders (@World_Farmers) July 25, 2020
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