OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
2/F Department of Agriculture Bldg.
Department of Agriculture
Elliptical Road, Diliman
Quezon City

Dear Secretary Lorenzo:

The Philippine Association of Feed Millers, Inc. (PAFMI) supports the government’s approval of the commercial production of Bt corn through Administrative Order No. 8.

We recognize the potential Bt corn has in increasing corn production and supporting sustainable agricultural practices. Other countries have reaped the benefits of Bt corn and other biotech crops in increasing crop yield and farmer income, and providing healthy and sufficient food for people and livestock.
The feedmilling sector, the country's biggest end-user of corn believes that the cultivation of Bt com will result to lower production costs and high-quality products at more competitive prices. More importantly, this wm rebound to the consumers who will enjoy lower prices of livestock products such as meat,. fish and poultry.

The commercialization of Bt Corn in the country was a result of five years of strict scientific and technical assessment by several government agencies and independent scientist. This has been backed by international scientific bodies who concluded that genetically-modified crops that passed food safety evaluation procedures are safe for use in food and animal feed production. PAFMI therefore concurs with their premise that crops like Bt corn are as safe as their conventionally bred counterparts. In support of the government’s food security initiatives and the Department of Agriculture's strong stand on the commercialization of Bt corn, we will comply with the strict regulatory and safety measures that have been set. We will help our loca1 farmers by promoting the safe and responsible use of Bt corn even as we assure our customers of continued high quality-control standards in our products.

We believe the commercialization of Bt corn is a major step towards the government's mission of attaining self-sufficiency in agricultural production and we support the government's initiatives along this line.

Sincerely,

GEORGE A. NAVA
President