By REINIR PADUA

A recent survey conducted by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) showed that majority of Filipino consumers and farmers are likely to accept genetically modified rice once it is ready for release for cultivation in the country.

Based on the PhilRice survey conducted with the Strive Foundation, 63 percent of the respondents accept GM rice.

As for the specifics, 64 percent are for GM pesticide-resistance rice, while a higher 69 accept biofortified rice.

The survey showed that 58 percent of the respondents said they were willing to plant, buy and sell while nine percent said they were not willing to do the same. Thirty-two percent of the respondents gave a conditional yes.

This assessment of GM rice involved 1,000 farmers and consumers randomly chosen in Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Iloilo, Davao del Sur and Davao del Norte.

The PhilRice survey came after the environmental group Greenpeace Southeast Asia was able to secure a temporary restraining order on the approval of an application not for cultivation but for "food, feed and processing" of Bayer’s LL62 rice.

The TRO stops the approval of the application for the rice variety for 20 days prior to the start of the hearings today for the petition for preliminary injunction filed by Greenpeace.

Director Alicia Ilaga of the Department of Agriculture’s Biotechnology Program Office said the survey only showed that farmers are now eager to try the new rice variety to reduce cost and losses caused by pests.

Expected to be released commercially for cultivation is the so-called "3-in1" rice being studied by PhilRice and funded by the DA BPO.

According to Ilaga, experts believe this first GM rice in the Philippines will pass all regulatory requirements for commercial release.

The "3-in-1 rice" is the first of its kind in the country because it will be "stacked" with a combination of traits – insect-resistance and herbicide-tolerance to increase farmers’ profitability and higher level of micronutrients to boost the health of a rice-dependent population.

It requires the transfer of not only the beta carotene biosynthesis into the grains of local varieties but the genes for tungro resistance and bacterial blight resistance through conventional breeding technique.

It is also considered a "genetically modified-derived" rice because Golden Rice, as one of its parents, is the result of genetic engineering that involved the deliberate artificial introduction of foreign genes from other plant species that enabled Golden Rice to produce beta carotene in the grain.

The PhilRice survey also showed that between 30 percent and 33 percent of the respondents were aware of rice biotechnology and genetic engineering, while 17 percent of all respondents heard about GMOs.

Among the respondents, urban consumers had higher level of awareness on GMO, GE and rice biotechnology compared to rural consumers and farmers, the survey revealed.

The survey also showed that 15 percent of respondents have heard about the potential risks and benefits of biotechnology. Majority (85 percent) of the respondents expressed their desire to know more about rice biotechnology through radio, television and newspapers.