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18 BIO LIFE January – March 2005
by 23 centavos than the non-Bt, but cash
costs were higher. The net income per kilo Table 3. Prices, Net Income and Returns to Labor and Management,
showed a difference of 10 centavos for the
407 Bt and Non-Bt Corn Farms, Philippines, 2003-2004
Bt corn and had an advantage of more than CORN TYPE/ Cost of Net Cash Return to
P1/kg in returns over the non-Bt varieties. LOCATION Price Production Income Costs Labor and
Yorobe also observed that Bt corn received
Pesos/kg Management
a premium price in the market due to better
(1 - 4)
quality and less impurities. He said that Bt Bt
corn farmers, particularly in Camarines Sur Camarines Sur 8.00 5.86 2.14 5.38 2.62
and Bukidnon, received premium prices by Bukidnon1st crop 6.86 5.99 0.87 5.27 1.59
as much as P1.61/kg during the second crop. Bukidnon 2nd crop 9.80 10.08 (0.28) 9.30 0.50
Many farmers traced this to the fact that Bt South Cotabato 8.83 4.61 4.22 4.29 4.54
corn kernels and ears were bigger and Isabela 8.92 4.27 4.66 4.10 4.82
cleaner with uniform sizes.
All locations 8.82 4.97 3.85 4.66 4.16
In sum, (Table 4) (Table 6 in the study)
the increase in total revenue of Bt corn farms Non-Bt
amounts to P14,849 per hectare, with savings
of P168/hectare in insecticide expendi-
Bukidnon 1st crop 6.66 5.31 1.36 4.30 2.36
ture. Although the seed costs were twice Bukidnon 2nd crop 8.19 5.16 3.02 4.23 3.96
higher than the non-Bt varieties, the study South Cotabato 8.11 4.92 3.20 4.35 3.76
showed that the profit advantage almost Isabela 8.68 4.77 3.90 4.52 4.16
doubled. The benefit cost ratio of 2.014 All locations 7.71 5.20 2.51 4.56 3.15
shows the better performance of Bt corn. Source of data: ISAAA Corn Survey, 2003-2004
With the estimated area planted to Bt corn
Bicol 6.84 6.10 0.74 5.66 1.18
in 2003-2004 at 10,769 hectares, Table 5
(Table 13 in the study) shows the results of
the distribution of benefits. The estimates are Table 4. Income and Cost Advantages of Bt corn Farm Adopters,
presented by region owing to wide differences
in agro-climatic conditions and man-
407 Bt and non-Bt Corn Farmers, Philippines, 2003-2004
agement practices across regions, Yorobe CROPPING/ Increase Pesticide BC Ratio
explained.
LOCATION in Total Application Additional Additional (total
Variations in yield per hectare and cost
Revenue Savings Seed Cost Profit returns/
per unit were evident in the results. With a
(Pesos/hectare)
total cost)
larger area planted to Bt corn and a higher 1st Cropping
cost reduction per unit, the net benefit to Camarines Sur 13,833.00 179.00 2,202.00 4,462.00 1.363
farmers was largest in Northern Luzon, with Bukidnon 7,210.00 (78.00) 2,626.00 (701.00) 1.201
P20.95 million. Farmers in other regions had
lesser benefits because of the smaller area 2nd Cropping
planted to Bt corn and minimal reported cost Bukidnon (710.00) 47.00 2,649.00 (6,283.00) 1.365
reduction per unit of production.
Isabela 8,680.00 132.00 1,741.00 7,910.00 2.285
Farmers in Northern Mindanao had South Cotabato 14,046.00 446.00 2,289.00 7,669.00 1.991
negative benefits as more costs were reported
on fertilizers, chemicals and hired labor.
Farms in these areas also experienced Source of data: ISAAA Corn Survey, 2003-2004
drought and stalk rot infestation.
All locations 14,849.00 168.00 2,047.00 10,132.00 2.014
After one year of commercialization, the
net benefit to farmers in the aggregate
amounted to P46.44 million. This was estimated
using the area planted to Bt and the
reduction in per-unit costs. The estimated
gross revenue by the seed company was
P43.48 million, which includes the cost of
the technology. These benefits, Yorobe underlined,
represent the direct and immediate
impact of the corn industry and now cover
the indirect effects with other industries, like
livestock, where corn is a big demand.
Farmers’ profile
It is interesting to note that there are
some noticeable differences observed in
the characteristics between Bt and non-Bt
After one year of
commercialization, the
net benefit to farmers in
the aggregate amounted
to P46.44 million.
This was estimated
using the area planted
to Bt and the reduction
in per-unit costs.
corn farmers, which could be important factors
in the adoption of the new technology.
(Table 6)
(Table 1 in the study). It shows that Bt
corn farmers were relatively younger (45.38
against 46.77 years), and have larger farms
((4.04 hectares against 2.47 hectares) than
their non-Bt counterparts. The area planted
to Bt corn was also larger (2.64 hectares)
compared to non-Bt corn (1.64 hectares). Bt
corn farmers were also better-educated
(about 10 years of formal schooling against
the non-Bt users’ eight years); they earned
more—over P2,000 a month—from other
sources besides farming, and this is an important
source of capital for farming opera-