WHAT DOES MEXICO’S DUAL DECISION TO REPLACE GENETICALLY MODIFIED CORN AND BAN GLYPHOSATE MEAN?

WHAT DOES MEXICO’S DUAL DECISION TO REPLACE GENETICALLY MODIFIED CORN AND BAN GLYPHOSATE MEAN?

What should we make of Mexico’s decision to protect its native corn and prohibit the planting of genetically modified corn?

And what can the Philippines learn from it?

First, let us clarify something. Mexico has indeed amended its Constitution to protect native corn and prohibit the planting of genetically modified corn. The reform describes corn as an element of national identity and calls for protection of biodiversity, food sovereignty and agroecological production. 

But Mexico has not yet completely banned glyphosate. It has been trying to phase it out while searching for practical alternatives. In September 2025, Mexico prohibited 35 hazardous pesticides, but glyphosate was not among them. 

This distinction is important because there are both advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage is obvious: Mexico is protecting biodiversity, traditional seeds and its ability to determine how its food is produced. The disadvantage is equally obvious: farmers need affordable alternatives, yields must be maintained, and consumers still need reasonably priced food. Mexico also has to deal with international trade obligations, as demonstrated by its dispute with the United States under the USMCA. 

So what about us?

The Philippines is already deeply committed to GM corn. A DA National Corn Program official estimated that about 90 percent of yellow corn is GM. More recent industry data put biotech corn at about 709,000 hectares in 2024.

Is that irreversible?

No. But it would certainly be difficult to reverse. Farmers, seed suppliers, feed manufacturers and livestock producers have built an entire economic system around it. That does not mean we cannot change it; it means that changing it would require a carefully managed transition.

The same applies to glyphosate. It is widely registered and used in Philippine agriculture, including for glyphosate-tolerant corn. The Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority's own registry lists glyphosate products for agricultural use. There is no evidence that its use is biologically or economically “irreversible.”

Interestingly, food sovereignty is already part of Philippine agricultural policy thinking. The DA's National Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization and Industrialization Plan explicitly describes the goal of becoming a food-sovereign nation, while the DA has identified corn as one of the commodities relevant to food sovereignty. 

And corn is not merely a theoretical rice substitute. The DA says about 14 million Filipinos prefer white corn as a staple, particularly in parts of the Visayas and Mindanao.

Do we still have alternatives to GM corn? Absolutely. UP Los Baños researchers have documented dozens of traditional Philippine corn varieties, while DA-Bicol has conserved hundreds of traditional corn accessions. A 2026 traditional-seed catalogue even documents heirloom crops, including corn. 

So what should we do?

Perhaps we should not immediately copy Mexico. We should first study Mexico.

The DFA could request information from the Mexican Embassy, while our Embassy in Mexico could ask the Mexican government for its transition plans, seed-conservation methods, agroecological technologies, costs and experience with trade issues.

Then let DA, DOST, DENR, DTI and our universities study the possibilities.

And perhaps Mexico and the Philippines could eventually sign a cooperation agreement on native seeds, agroecology, corn biodiversity and food sovereignty.

Why not?

Mexico may be asking a question that we should also be asking:

Who should ultimately control the seeds that feed a nation—the farmer, the government, or the corporations that sell them?

I deliberately avoided saying that the Philippines can simply “ban GM corn and glyphosate” overnight. The more interesting—and more practical—question for the Philippines is whether we can build a transition strategy first, using our remaining traditional corn genetic resources while protecting farmers and food supply.

RAMON IKE V. SENERES

www.facebook.com/ike.seneres  iseneres@yahoo.com  senseneres.blogspot.com  09088877282/09-01-2027