The Philippines becomes the second country after Bangladesh to approve the commercial cultivation of genetically modified eggplant.
The Bt eggplant, first developed in India, contains a natural protein from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), making it resistant to the eggplant fruit and shoot borer (EFSB), the most devastating insect pest for this crop.
The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquitic and Natural Resources and Development, stated that the Bt protein is safe for humans and animals because it is highly specific to the shoot borer larvae.
Although developed in India, the Bt eggplant is banned in that country.