“There has been a lot of talk about developing high-yielding crops and crops that can cope with climate change using GM seeds,” said Daniel Ocampo, a genetic engineering campaigner with the environmental group Greenpeace. But, he said, the technology was still a long way from “addressing these needs.”

Even so this has not stopped the Philippines from subsidizing the production of GM corn. “This is despite the fact that GM corn and some conventional varieties have the same yield potentials,” Ocampo said.

While Japan does not grow GM crops due to safety concerns among consumers it does import GM grains for use in making products such as cooking oil, animal feed and manufactured goods. Japanese companies have been reluctant to test the market for consumer-ready GM food because of labelling requirements and public safety worries.

While Japan does not ban GM farming, strict regulation has discouraged corporate investment in the area. But with rising food prices causing increasing concern in a country that imports more than half of what it eats, the government has said that GM crops may be a way to ease food security and environmental problems.

“Because of strong public concern about consuming genetically modified food, it does not make business sense for Japanese firms to farm genetically modified plants commercially,” a Japanese farm ministry official said.

“However, given the expansion in the cultivation of GM products abroad and rising demand for food, we are reviewing ways to have the option of commercial farming in the future,” he said.

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