Transgenic Horticultural Crops in Asia - Transgenic Horticultural Crops: Challenges and Opportunities - page 161

region.. The most. signiicant. of. these. developments. are. China's. approval. of. trans-
genic. rice. and. maize,. India's. Genetic. Engineering. Approval. Committee. (GEAC).
recommendation. for. commercial. release. of. Bt. brinjal. (eggplant),. Japan's. approval.
for.commercial.planting.of.transgenic.blue.rose,.and.the.signiicant.number.of.trans-
genic.food.crops.that.are.already.in.advanced.stages.of.development.and.commer-
cialization.in.India.and.China.
PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE AND PERCEPTION
OF BIOTECH CROPS IN ASIA
Public. acceptance. of. biotech. crops. and. products. ultimately. decides. whether. the.
products. are. commercially. deployed. and. can. deliver. on. their. potential. beneits..
Stakeholders.in.Asian.developing.countries.particularly.in.the.Philippines,.Malaysia,.
India,. Vietnam,. and. China. were. reported. to. have,. in. general,. positive. perceptions.
on. biotechnology. applications. 25-27 . Consumers. in. the. industrial. Asian.countries.of.
Japan.and.South.Korea,.on.the.other.hand,.were.reported.to.be.more.conservative.
in. outlook. or. negative. in. perception. toward. agricultural. biotechnology. compared.
to.others.in.the.region. 26,28 .The.underlying.differences.among.these.country.groups.
were. partly. attributed. to. the. relative. importance. of. agriculture. in. these. societies..
Japan. and. South. Korea. are. food. importing. countries. where. the. generally. afluent.
consumers.are.rather.unsure.about.the.potential.contributions.of.the.technology.to.
their.individual.or.household.food.status. 28 .However,.if.made.aware.about.potential.
contributions.of.the.technology.to.sustainability,.consumers.in.both.countries.show.
a. marked. positive.shift. in.their.perception.and. acceptance. of. the. technology,. sug-
gesting.that.they.easily.identify.themselves.with.the.higher.value.and.goal.of.sus-
tainability..The.availability.of.the.biotech.blue.rose.recently.unveiled.in.Japan.and.
the.apparent.market.acceptance.and.excitement.about.the.product.further.suggest.a.
positive.consumer.response.to.a.product.with.perceived.added.value.
The.rising. hectarage.planted.to.biotech.crops. that. are.commercialized.in. some.
Asian.countries.and.the.increase.in.the.number.of.regulatory.approvals.for.import-
ing. countries. suggest. a. growing. conidence. and. acceptance. of. biotech. crops. and.
products..In.Malaysia,.Bangladesh,.and.the.Philippines,.surveys.indicated.that.bio-
technology.is.perceived.to.be.highly.important.and.would.be.instrumental.in.future.
economic. development.. Farmers. generally. accept. biotech. crops. if. they. can. derive.
beneits.from.its.production,.as.the.preliminary.survey.on.biotech.rice.in.Bangladesh.
revealed. 29 . Similar. perspectives. of. farmers. and. consumers. were. also. reported. in.
Malaysia.and.the.Philippines. 25,30,31 .In.India,.Krishna.and.Qaim 32 .reported.that.60%.
of.urban.consumers.will.likely.adopt.Bt.eggplant.when.commercialized.even.when.
marketed.at.the.regular.vegetable.prices,.indicating.a.relatively.high.acceptance.level.
of.the.eggplant.technology.
Among. the. stakeholders,. farmers'. perception. on. biotech. crops. and. biotechnol-
ogy. in. general. is. very. important. since. they. are. the. direct. principal. beneiciaries..
In.the.Philippines,.the.positive.experience.of.farmers.on.Bt.corn.since.it.was.com-
mercialized. starting. in. 2003. averted. what. could. have. been. continuing. opposition.
from.sectors.that.were.initially.against.the.technology. 31 .In.most.cases,.ambivalence.