Clos This Window Close This Window

Send To Your Printer Send To Your Printer

Jerry Due


Major Crops: Fruit, rice, corn

Farm Size: 4.5 acres (1.8 hectares)

Years Farming: 14+

First Planted Biotech Crops: 2003

Favorite Benefits: Increased yield and income.  More free time for family.  Less impact on the environment.

Family: Married, one child

Maybe those people whom oppose biotechnology do not know all of the good things it has done for us.
Maybe those people whom oppose biotechnology do not know all of the good things it has done for us.
Send Link to this Page
close X

Related Article


FILIPINO FARMERS REAP ADVANTAGES OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS
Farmer Jerry Due Cites Reduced Spraying of Agricultural Pesticides and Increased Yields as Greatest Benefits to His Family

The Philippines is one of 11 developing countries and one of the first countries in Asia to adopt genetically modified (GM) crops. Corn growers in this country face persistently high levels of Asian corn borers that infest the crops and negatively impact yields. Insect-protected (Bt) corn provides growers with an alternative to controlling insects with applications of agricultural pesticides.

“We have been using Bt corn for two years now. We hardly use pesticides and the yield has improved,” says Jerry Due, who has fought corn borers since he started farming in 1990. “It has been about a 20 to 30 percent increase from the previous yield.”

“Another benefit of biotech corn is that we do not have to burn the residue in our harvest anymore. We just allow the residue to decompose in the field to become fertilizers,” continues Due in his comments on the advantages of genetically modified organisms. “Our former practice was to burn them. With the help of Bt, this will not have the same adverse effects in our environment.”

In 2005, Due was one of more than 50,000 resource-poor Filipino farmers who grew biotech corn on approximately 247,000 acres (100,000 hectares) – resulting in higher incomes and reduced applications of agricultural pesticides countrywide.

“I want my son to take education seriously. And increased yield will make that possible,” says Due. “By the time he goes to school, he will have enough money to stay in the school.”

While corn is the only biotech crop currently grown and providing the advantages of genetically modified organisms to Filipino farmers, researchers are conducting in-country lab, greenhouse and field studies on a wide variety of crops important to Philippine agriculture including papaya, rice, tomatoes, coconut, mangoes and bananas.

“If there were no Bt corn, I would not plant again after realizing the difference it makes in our harvest,” Due says. “Maybe those people whom oppose biotechnology do not know all the good things it has done for us.”


Editor’s Notes: Pesticides registered by the U.S. EPA will not cause unreasonable adverse effects on man or the environment, when used in accordance with label directions.

© 2005 Monsanto Company. All rights reserved. The copyright holder consents to the use of this material and the images in the published context only and solely for the purpose of promoting the benefits of agricultural biotechnology.

Video Transcript



I am Jerry Due, 36 years old. I have been tilling this land for about 14 years now. ... We are using this Bt corn the same way we used to do conventionally — just as we plant other seeds. The only difference is how we cultivate it. …

With Bt corn, we are quite sure that after planting and irrigation, we can now just leave it and wait for the harvest time. We no longer use pesticides. Then we have more time to attend to other work, and at times visit our friends in their houses.

… We have been using it for two years now. ... It has been about a 20 to 30 percent increase from the previous yield. ...

I want my son to take education seriously ... And increased yield will make that possible. He is just 3 years old now. ... And, by the time he goes to school, he will have enough money to stay in the school. ...

Another benefit of biotech corn is that we do not have to burn the residue in our harvest anymore. We just allow the residue to decompose in the field to become fertilizers. Our former practice was to burn them. ... With the help of Bt, this will not have the same adverse effects in our environment.

... If there were no Bt corn, I would not plant again. After realizing the difference it makes in our harvest, why would I use the conventional way when there is Bt corn to give us a good harvest? ... I would borrow money or sell the land if there was no Bt corn to make ends meet. ...

Maybe those people whom oppose biotechnology do not know all the good things it has done for us, but we can never question their principles. We should respect their principles — but, at the same time, we can also fight for ours.

Editor’s Note: Bt corn contains a protein from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that protects corn plants from specific lepidopteron insect pests.

© 2006 Monsanto Company. All rights reserved. The copyright holder consents to the use of this material and the images in the published context only and solely for the purpose of promoting the benefits of agricultural biotechnology.