GM Maize Adoption Increases by 31% Every Year in the Philippines, Benefiting More Resource-poor Farmers

Philippino farmers have planted 835,000 hectares of genetically modified (GM) maize in 2019, with an increase of 31.24% every year for 17 years, according to an economic assessment of GM maize adoption in the Philippines conducted by experts from the University of the Philippines Diliman.

GM maize was approved for commercial planting in 2002. By 2019, a third of all Filipino maize farmers or about 460 thousand families were planting GM maize. The total welfare gain from adopting GM maize reached US$189.4 million. This indicates a significant improvement in the income of farming families. Furthermore, resource-poor farming families were found to benefit more from GM technology than high-income farming families.

Read more findings in the International Journal of Food Science and Agriculture.