BY KATRINA MENNEN A. VALDEZ Reporter

HIGH-YIELD grain varieties are unlikely to help the Philippines weather this year’s El Niño, according to a farm biotechnology expert.

On the sidelines of a conference on Monday, Randy Hautea, director for Southeast Asia of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), said the expansion of Bt-corn in the Philippines would slow down because of the lingering dry spell.

Hautea said the growth in the area planted to Bt maize would be volatile since this crop, just like ordinary corn, will not be spared from El Niño.

“We cannot give [a] projection for this year yet since the dry spell would have a significant impact in terms of Bt maize growth in the Philippines,” he said.

Bt-corn is a variant of maize that is genetically altered to release a toxin against insects.

At present, three million hectares of land are planted to corn nationwide, he said. About half of this is devoted to white corn for human consumption, while the other half is for yellow corn or those used for animal feeds. There are two types of corn for animal feeds: the open pollinated and the hybrid corn.

Bt maize accounts for about half of the total hybrid corn.

In 2008, the area planted to Bt maize stood at 350,000 hectares. ISAAA had projected that the area would increase to 480,000 hectares in 2009. But because of the unfavorable weather, the actual area would only be around 400,000, Hautea said.

The Philippines is the only country in Asia that has approved the entry of genetically modified corn. Other countries fear that the Bt corn would adversely affect the health of livestock, which could be possibly passed on to humans once consumed.