Kent D.

Trinidad 2D-English

1. What is your GMO, its modified characteristics and features?

It is a stronger and more durable Abaca. These new breeds of abaca possessing longer bodies and more
resistant to any kind of weeds or plant living around it causing it to grow healthy without any
complication to its body affecting the quality of its fiber. It has also stronger body and leaves to make it
more resilient against strong winds and typhoons considering our geographical location which is likely to
experience strong hurricanes.

2. In what ways do you think this GMO can positively impact society?

Catanduanes is hailed as the Abaca capital of the world and most of our farmers are relying in abaca
plantations. With this kind of abaca our farmers will gain more profit because of the lesser work in
planting it and the quality of the fiber that it can produce. With such kind of product, farmers will be
able to sell more because of the lesser amount of getting lower quality fibers. By helping our small time
farmers to grow, we can assure to achieve a sustainable future from our own product.

Maybe it’s time for us to focus on what we have and develop it and use it for our own progress.
Innovating our local materials and turning into a new form of modernized tools, we can face
globalization with confidence from sustainability.

3. What ethical issues or concerns may arise as a result of this GMO?

With such fascination of the positive outcome of this new innovation, we cannot control people to
abuse the environment. Farmers may produce fibers without moderation to the extent of its depletion.
They can destroy other part of forest, cut big tress and turn it into abaca plantations which may cause
landslide or flashfloods in some area. it is not wrong to use abaca or any other environmental materials
but with moderation.