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BIONet National Congress Introduction The BIONet Program aims to institutionalize partnerships on agricultural biotechnology for local development by forging alliances among stakeholders in communities. The BIONet National Congress was the apex of the year-long effort to establish the network in various provinces across the country. The officers and representatives of each BIONet joined the Congress held at the Balay Kalinaw at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City on April 2, 2006. The BIONet National Council was formed as a program of action for sustainability. Partnership agreements between and among stakeholders will be formalized during the Congress. The BIONet National Congress were attended by various stakeholders representing local governments, government institutions, private institutions, investors, industries, farmers, people’s organizations, and the academe from all over the country. Representatives of established provincial BIONet consortiums were also present. The highlight of the event was the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the BIONet and BIOCommerce among the Department of Agriculture, National Nutrition Council, the BIONet leaders, concerned Local Government Units, and SECURA International. The Biotechnology Course of Local Government Units was also launched during the congress led by the League of Municipalities of the Philippines Mayor’s Development Program. The officers of the BIONet Council were also identified in the event. Proceedings I. Opening Ceremony June Rodriguez from the Biotechnology for Life Media Advocacy and Resource Center (BMARC) gave a short introduction of BIONet and the BIONet National Congress to open the event. JUNE RODRIGUEZ: In behalf of the organizers, the sponsors, and partner agencies from the government and civil society, I welcome you to the first biotechnology network or Bionet Congress. I am June Rodriguez, and with me is Nanet Tanyag. We will serve as the moderator for today’s event. A lot of firsts have already been made in biotechnology particularly in the field of science and technology. Because of the many inventions and discoveries, today’s generations no longer think, work and live the same as we did 20 or 59 years ago. The invention of computer and cellular phones has drastically shortened the distance of countries in the west and in countries like ours the Philippines. No wonder it is now a lot easier for parents to allow their children to work in unfamiliar countries like Dubai, Canada or Singapore because they know that text messaging or email will keep them in touch. Discoveries and inventions in the field of biotechnology have changed the lives of many people, as well. For instance, today’s generations have a lot more choices when it comes to health. New medicines and vaccines are made available through biotechnology. A more varied and nutrition-conscious kind of food and drinks are now available in the market because of biotech. Lately, for instance, the humble ampalaya was announced to be a cure for diabetes and some other ailments. And this was acknowledged by the Department of Health. This would not have been possible without applied biotechnology in ampalaya. Soon, the once underrated malunggay will play a major role in our drinks and noodles. Today, we make another first in the field of biotechnology, and that is in the field of networking. A few years ago, the Biotechnology for Life Media and Advocacy Resource Center or BMARC, in close partnership with the BCP (Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines), and the Biotechnology Program Implementation Unit of DA (DA Biotech PIU), ventured on a project of bringing biotechnology related information to the Filipino people. This program was part of an agreement to implement the national education, communication and advocacy campaign for biotechnology. This was forged with two other institutions in 2004 – SEARCA (Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture) and PCCARD (Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development) of the DOST (Department of Science and Technology). In the course of its implementation, BMARC was instrumental in the formation of biotechnology-focused groups, councils, committees and associations in the municipal and provincial level. These formations are the front or the vanguards in the formation of community-based BIONets (Biotechnology Networks). That will ensure the participation of all stakeholders in pushing the frontiers of science in response to the challenge of feeding a hungry world without depleting the resources of our environment. Today, we are here to affirm our love for our country and to strengthen our commitment to face the tremendous and difficult challenge of alleviating, if not eradicating, hunger. Our efforts will, of course, have to start in our respective communities. Our efforts will be made visible to the National level through what we are tasked to do today. That is to formally launch a National movement of advocates and implementors for biotechnology, its methods and systems. We would like to thank the delegates who have graced the event. We would also like to welcome our visitors, resource persons, and thank them for joining us today. We specially welcome representatives from the farming or producing communities, business and private sectors, the media, financial institutions and the Local Government Units for taking precious time off from your work and family to be here today. Finally, we are truly honored to have with us delegates from the following regions and provinces: (As I call your regions or province, please stand up to be recognized) from the CARAGA Region or Region XIII, the Province of Agusan del Norte, our friends from NORMISIST (Northern Mindanao State Institute of Science and Technology) and the Municipality of Jabonga; from the province of Lanao, Marawi city, Dr. Ahmad Alonto and company; from Occidental Mindoro (who have yet to arrive); from the province of Negros Oriental, particularly from the Municipalities of Dauin and Valencia; from the province of Laguna; from the province of Quezon; from Region III, the provinces of Tarlac, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Vizcaya and Nueva Ecija; from Region I, the province of Ilocos; and, of course, from the CAR (Cordillera Administrative Region), thank you very much for coming. We also have with us friends from the NCR (National Capital Region), particularly representing financial institutions and other members of civil society. Many, many thanks for coming. There are a few people I have to call to the front, Dr. Nina Barzaga, President of the BCP and, to formally open the congress, may I call on Dr. Editha Burgos, Executive Director of BMARC, to deliver the Congress opening remarks. To formally open the Congress, Dr. Editha Burgos, Executive Director of BMARC, gave the opening remarks with her message to the participants and guests who attended. DR. EDITHA BURGOS: It truly is a beautiful morning. All are wearing a smile, which I think is because of our delicious and filling breakfast. Good morning, USEC Jade del Mundo of the DOH, ASEC Joy Javelosa of DA, Dr. Nina Barzaga of BCP, Dir. Alice Ilaga, DA Biotech. I see some other friends here, Dr. Gaudencio Petalcorin, Jr of NORMISIST, and also the Director of the CARAGA consortium for agriculture forestry and resources research and development, and Atty. Ronil Beronio, Deputy Executive Director of PhilRice. I also see Dr. Ahmad Alonto, former President of MSU (Mindanao State University). Colleagues in media, fellow farmers, fellow agri-businessmen, and friends, good morning to all of you. It is true, indeed, that with enough care and with these people who have institutions or organizations working together, more is accomplished and the caring is converted into concrete actions. Today, we see an example of this concrete action. The collaboration among government agencies particularly the DA, DOH, LGUs, SEARCA and DOST-PCCARD, and the NGOs and companies such as the J. Burgos Media Services, BMARC and BCP, as well as the private companies represented here has brought the dream of establishing a structure that will ensure the sustainability of all our initiatives in biotechnology, which we have started way back in the year 2000. Of course, the collaboration happened only in 2003. and has been going on up to the present. Guided by basic principles of social equity, job generation and economic profitability, Bionet is envisioned to empower marginalized sectors of society particularly farmers, women, out of school youth, and the rural poor. Through BIOCommerce, as a strategy for competitiveness, the BIONet will support local economic activity with preference towards the natural ingredients industry because we know that it is a fact that the Philippines has a competitive advantage in this area. This BIONet National Congress, the first of its kind, is our response to the challenge of the global bio-enterprise. As we start this congress, we look back to our initiatives several years ago. We just started with guidelines for communication, went on to initiatives in campaigns for information, education and communication then we evolved into advocacy. We have now graduated to BIOCommerce, and now there is a need for a biotechnology network (BIONet). We are very hopeful, as we open this congress, that eventually BIONet would not only be an advocacy, but it would be a way of living that would hopefully be modeled by those who are attending the first bionet congress. So with that hopeful note, we open the first BIONet National Congress. Director Alice Ilaga of the Department of Agriculture Biotech Implementation Unit (DA Biotech PIU) followed with her welcome remarks. ALICE ILAGA: Good morning to all of you. Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to see everybody here again. It is not our first time to see each other. As you all know, we have been going around the country for the past year, and you have all welcomed us in your respective provinces. Now, we are the ones who will welcome all of you in Manila for this first BIONet National BIONet Congress, to form our National BIONet Council. Let me first greet our special guests today, USEC Jaye del Mundo of DOH, ASEC Joy Javelosa, the most attractive ASEC of DA. Of course, we have to also recognize the President of the National Agribusiness Corporation, Mr. Allan Javelana; Deputy Administrator Carpio of PCA (Philippine Coconut Authority); Engr. Danilo Manayaga of SECURA International, who will help us establish our malunggay and atsuwete industries; Dr. Editha Burgos and of course, Dr. Alonto; Atty. Beronio, Dr Nina Barzaga and Dr. Petalcorin. We are also expecting mayors this afternoon: Mayor Calderon, Secretary General of LMP, Mayor Gonzales and Mayor Maglangit. Good morning to all of you. I am more than pleased to welcome all of you to the first National BIONet Congress of the Philippines. This is an activity that, I believe, would change your lives and minds, and hopefully will improve the lot of farmers, agricultural producers, and all other stakeholders in the wonderful world of biotechnology. This is also why I am here, I am also “Alice in wonderland”. We are all in the wonderful world of biotechnology. As director of the DA Biotech PIU, I am most concerned with how the entire country views biotechnology products, from new rice strains, crop varieties, even fruits that yield natural ingredients that are in demand, like papaya, and the lowly malunggay, whose leaves contain the most number of nutrients to warrant being called the new wonder food. At first, I thought it was a daunting job but as we went along and embarked on a nationwide education and information campaign, I realized that people change and attitudes do change with regards to innovations and even new discoveries. Our congress is, indeed, newly born. It is the direct result of our untiring efforts to persuade people that biotechnology is not a beast and that it presents distinct benefits to our people, particularly for agricultural producers who certainly would earn more than from cultivation of our traditional crops. They would earn more through the cultivation of high-value crops and other commodities that spell better incomes. I hope that our first Congress would firm up our collective agreement to promote biotechnology and guarantee food security in the process even as we work hard to institutionalize marketing networks and penetrate newer local and foreign markets for our best biotechnology products. Again, I welcome everybody to the first national bionet congress, and i wish we achieve success in one day of spirited exchange. Thank you very much. II. Congress Proper The First BIONet National Congress proper started off with a slide presentation of the DA Agricultural Biotechnology Roadmap by Dir. Alice Ilaga. DIR. ALICE ILAGA: This morning, I am going to introduce the topic of the Philippine biotechnology revolution. I always begin my presentation by saying that we are in a biotech revolution, and the key to joining the biotechnology revolution is to strategically position ourselves. As we know, we are not at par with other countries when it comes to biotechnology. These other countries came first in utilizing and innovating the technology, and they had the resources to do it. Now, they have a vast number of products and technologies. Now, we ask, does the Philippines have a position in this revolution? We, from the DA, try to search our souls, search our capability, look into the trends in world development in biotechnology, and assess our resources and facilities. With these, we have come up with a biotechnology roadmap. This is the direction we want to pursue, at least for the DA. We will follow this path today, and continue on 10 years from now. So this roadmap is a 10-year roadmap. I am delighted to present to you the strategies. We have presented this to you during the local BIONet workshops, but, this time, I would like to emphasize how we are progressing, how are we delivering, or how are we moving the roadmap towards the future. The road map is actually anchored to the question: How do we position Philippine agriculture in the biotech century? In answering this question, we are further guided by the very same goals of the AFMA, or the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act. This also aims to increase farmers income, improve competitiveness towards sustainable and increase productivity. These are the three major activities that the DA will pursue in a response to the question on the Philippine agriculture’s position in the biotech century. In joining the biotech revolution, the 1st major activity involves improving the competitiveness of traditional agri- and fishery products. What are these traditional agri- and fishery products? These are rice, corn, sugar, abaca, coconut. seaweeds, and tilapia. These are our traditional products. So, what do we want to do with our traditional products? Has anyone heard of of a farmer who hit the jackpot, became instantly rich, with planting rice, corn or abaca? No one. This is why we want all those who plant traditional crops hit the jackpot. And how do we do that? We will increase the value of these traditional products through multi-product processing. This means we would be extracting a lot of products from a single commodity (crop) through what we call ‘bioprocesses’. Integrated processing is really a growing trend in the world that would increase the value and competitiveness of traditional crops. Along this line, the private sectors should be encouraged and supported in developing integrated pilot processing plants to be able to extract as many commercial products from our traditional products – rice, corn, abaca, seaweeds, and tilapia, for instance. A step towards this initial collaboration of the Department with the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, together with the private sector, is the development of integrated processing of high value products from seaweeds. We are undertaking these series of consultations with the scientists, and the next round would be with the industries. We have developed the integrated processing for seaweeds and have discovered some high value commodities from our different colors of algae, which can be sold at $ 5,000 per milligram. So, if the Philippines can only see this opportunity, it would not be unlikely that our farmers will start to become rich. The 2nd major activity in joining the biotech revolution involves improving crop, livestocks and fishery productivity through applications of modern biotechnology. The use of genetic engineering will provide long-term solutions to some of our major crop livestock and fishery production problems. We can develop new varieties and new breeds with higher value products. But, during our evaluation, we are asked whether we have a stake in this modern biotechnonology process. Can the DOST, the DA, and the whole country compete in modern biotechnology. The answer is no. We have evaluated ourselves and have discovered that we have a lot of blanks to fill when it comes to modern biotech. Therefore, we have to embark on building our capability over the short-, medium- and long-term scenario so we can compete globally. The strategy is really to consolidate our resources and facilities. The establishment of the DA Agricultural Biotech Center is a step towards our consolidation of resources and facilities for greater efficiency and effectiveness. We have identified PhilRice as the laboratory for rice genomics, as well as for the study of other different crops. We also have identified the Philippine Carabao Center as animal genomics laboratory, and the BFAR-SEAFDEC as the laboratory for fisheries and aquaculture genomics. These key laboratories will be strengthened and transformed into centers of excellence. But, would this mean that we will not support the small laboratories all over the country? No. We will continue to support the small laboratories that would cater to minor activities. Since the major activites require high throughput equipment, these will be done in our key laboratories. Now, what would be the role of the BIONe? What will be the relationship between the BIONet and the Agricultural Biotech Center? BIONet will have a significant contribution in bringing the centers’ impact to the intended beneficiaries by becoming the channel for technology delivery. All the technologies that would emerge from the Center will be brought down to the grassroots through the BIONets. We feel that we should complement our resources and facilities. So in strengthening the major biotech facilities, we are working on a research fellowship program that will complement the expansion of commodity assignments of PhilRice, PCC, and SEAFDEC. This program will include full time research fellowships, which will be opened to scientists not only from DA but also for non-DA scientists. Not just local, but also foreign scientists can join the program so they can help us in developing technologies. This would help address our lack of competitive scientists in the country. Therefore, we will welcome all scientists, whether local or international, to help us and work in our key laboratories. We will be launching this program very soon, within the month of April. This program has already been approved, is funded, and is ready for implementation. In order to keep up with the developments in biotechnology, we need a cadre of dynamic and excellent scientists. Hence, we should target at least 200 scientists in 10 years through doctoral, post-doctoral, short- and long-term training programs, and even collaborative researches with more experienced scientists abroad. The 3rd major activity in joining the modern biotech revolution involves our undertaking of a research and development agenda. We should remain impact-oriented in considering the use of genetic engineering, and of course in considering the intended users of the target technology. We have identified focus areas for research. For crops, we plan to make them virus-resisitant, and for animals, we will give much attention to developing our carabao and goat industry. Since, only our country has these species, we should focus on the carabaos and goats to produce more meat and more milk. We are currently importing 90% of our milk from New Zealand and Australia aside from importing 95 to 99% of our beef. Of course, we will also focus on seaweeds, high commercial valued shrimps that are pathogen-free, and tilapia with enhanced growth rate. Why tilapia? The tilapia is what sells in the country, at least in Luzon. We will focused on tilapia with enhance growth rate because this is what Filipino’s consume. Also, in line with the 2nd major activity to help in the modern biotech revolution, we need to provide an enabling environment for technology transfer and product commercialization. Of course, we should involve the intended users of technology in as early as identifying the research and development areas, all the way thru technology transfer and product commercialization. We shall protect our technology and products in this age of global bio-enterprise through our established DA Biotech Intellectual Property Rights Center. Director Beronio, I hope you are listening. He will be in charge of this. We will also conduct trainings because we have a facility equipped with 30 computers. Scientists can do their prior art search there. Furthermore, we will assist technology takers in getting into full-blown commercialization through expanding the scope of our DA Biotech Business Incubation Facility from natural ingredients and include application of modern biotechnology. We will also establish the science policy that will nurture a productive, competitive, and creative science community. What else can be our problem in doing research? Some say that we have a problem in terms of funding. There are times where we have funds today but not for tomorrow. We have funding this year, only to know that we don’t in the next year. This becomes discouraging, especially for our scientists. To answer this, we will establish a suitable fund management system to ensure sufficient funding of research projects from start to end. Thanks to the study, which we commissioned to Atty. Beronio, we have discovered that the scientists in the Philippines can actually manage their own institutions with their innovations and creations. What does this mean? This means that scientists would have enough incentives. Our scientists here can actually start their own company out of their innovations and creations, which, I think, is the best incentive more than anything else. We are now currently developing the technology transfer mechanism and the protocol through with the help of Atty. Beronio. What other incentives can we give to our scientists? We will provide them with assistance in setting up their company to commercialize their inventions, and we will be facilitating and provding grants for patenting and IPR protection procedures. The 3rd major activity in joining the biotech revolution has actually been started. This is utilizing the country’s rich biodiversity for natural ingredients, targeting the world market. In the past, we didn’t realize the potential of this. Indeed, we could produce the natural ingredients requirements of the world using traditional and modern biotechnology. We intend to create a cluster of bioech industries. The hub of that cluster is the bioprocessing component. A local company, SECURA International through Danny Manayaga, have developed a platform technology of bioprocesses, which can extract natural ingredients from our indigenous commodities and products. That will be our hub. Of course, our farmers would be the spokes for this cluster of industries. Our farmers from Negros Oriental, Lanao, Quezon, Laguna, Tarlac, Region I, III, and everybody all over the nation will be the spokes of this cluster of bioindustries. The farmers will be supported by our bio-inputs. We already have biofertilizers, vermiculture, biopesticides, and tissue culture. This will directly support our farmers. I give emphasis to these inputs because these are our biotechnologies. We want to create new industries out of technologies that we already have. To address the demand for natural ingredients, we will establish an enabling environment and coordinate everything so that all government agencies, which will help in the natural ingredients industry, can come together and consolidate its forces. The DOST can help the natural ingredients industry by making clinical trials available. This would open up the international market for some of the products with medicinal value. The DTI would not only provide the incentives, but can also help in opening up the market internationally. The DENR can help identify other medicinal plants and utilize them as reforestation species. They can declare banaba a priority crop for reforestation and we can, in turn, harvest some of its leaves for medicinal purposes. The DA will do its part by the conslidaiton of government resources in providing propagation materials. We also look into strengthening our analytical service laboratories. We have identified the NSRI of UP Diliman to provide that inevitable service. And, of course, standard setting is very important. Since we will compete internationally, we will commission our Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Products Standards to help in setting the standards for natural ingredients production so that processors can deliver the right quality to its customers. In addition, we would ensure that R&D remains relevant to the intended users of the technology by considering joint R&D with clients. In the setting of our research agenda, we will conduct applied researches such as identification of the best varieties for medicinal plants, the formulation of simple guides on production, and the identification of suitable planting sites. Currently, we are working on the construction of the DA Biotech Business Incubation Facility at the BAI (Bureau of Animal Industry). At the onset, it will be focusing on the development of our natural ingredients industry, but eventually, it will be expanded to accomodate applications of modern biotech and will be fueled for commercial operations. What is so important with this incubator? This will provide the right environment for the establishment of our products before it can be fully commercialized. In this regard, I would like to acknowledge the National Agribusiness Corporation, it is the implementor of the DA Biotech Business Incubator Facility. We will also build the network and investment collaboration. Our initial campaigns and advocacies on biotech clarified issues concerning the new technology and explored its enormous opportunities. Hence, this will pave the way in having a strong foundation at the local level. We already have a lot of partners in the LGUs and our biotechnology advocates are continuously growing in number. This support has developed into fruitful collaborations with local governments and the private sector. Today we have established BIONets in Nueva Viscaya, Bulacan, Lanao del Norte and Sur, Negros Oriental, Laguna, the CARAGA Region, Davao and Mindoro. These new partnerships are the reason why we are gathered here today in the halls of Balay Kalinaw. We will frame BIOCommerce thorugh BIONets. Our BIONets, like June Rodriguez mentioned earlier, are partnerships on agricultural biotechnology for local development involving all stakeholders. When we say we have to prime BIOCommerce, this will not only involve the BIONets, but all those who want to promote the industry. This is something that will be useful to the local communities. That is why we don’t offer to out up BIONets in areas where we don’t have any BIOCommerce to offer. Later on, we will see what kind of bionets we have established. Through our BIONets we have established the consortia of our BIONet business cooperation on atsuwete. Why atsuwete? We chose atsuwete because there is already a demand of 18,000 hectares of atsuwete for natural colors. According to Danny Manayaga, there is a shift from artificial or chemical colors to natural colors. His company will buy up to 15,000 to 18,000 hectares of atsuwete seeds. In fact, if you have it now, you can sell it to him right now. In fact, we already have a business cooperation. The business cooperation for atsuwete includes those from CARAGA, Quezon, and CAR. We also have a consortium on papaya. This business cooperation has been established in CARAGA and Negros Oriental. We also have formed a business cooperation or consortium consisting of BIONet Laguna, Quezon, Negros Oriental, and Region I and III for malunggay. We are actually targeting 3,000 hectares for malunggay leaves production. This is still different from our targets for seeds to produce moringga (malunggay) oil. For us to appreciate this venture on malunggay leaves locally, the leaves can be powderized by SECURA to meet the demand of nissin and zesto for additives in their consumer products. We will incorporate the powderized malunggay in our instant noodles, which is consumed by both the poor and the rich. What we want is not just for the noodles to be filling, but also to be nutritious. Furthermore, through the wonders of biotechnology, we can also put malunggay extracts in our sauces, juices, in our milk, rice, in everything to make it healthier for consumers. This is actually only the beginning. We just want you to recognize the power of biotechnology with these examples. We want you to recognize the power of innovation and the power of public and private partnerships. And, of course, we would like to harness the power of life through biotechnology. Let us continue running for the modernization of Philippine agriculture, increasing farmers’ income, advancing local development, and sustaining national development the biotech way. Let us consolidate our efforts in making a difference in Philippine agriculture. Thank you very much. In behalf of Hon. Arthur Yap, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, ASEC for Policy Joy Javelosa delivered the keynote address. ASEC JOY JAVELOSA: Thank you June and thank you Dir. Alice for that very upbeat presentation. USEC Jaye del Mundo, Dr. Barzaga, our distinguished guests, good morning to all of you. I guess my role this morning is to emphasize again our very important role. This initiative is very important and I would like to start my talk by first giving a brief, big picture of how our Philippine economy is progressing right now. Two weeks back, we were in Cebu for the Philippine Development Forum, together with the Cabinet Secretaries, the President and Vice-President, and the heads of the donor agencies, and also representatives from the academe, NGOs and the private sectors. The objective of that Forum was to discuss how the country would proceed towards development. There were some good news. For the past 3 years, for the 1st time since 1970s, our economy has grown by over 5%. Our economy is progressing and the sources of growth are export of electronics, business outsourcing and of course the remittances of our overseas workers. But then, the not so good news is that this growth doesn’t seem to be robust and sustainable. There are still a lot of poor Filipinoes, many are still unemployed, and many are still experiencing hunger. I think the challenge for all of us is to sustain this growth. There seems to be improvement but it has to be higher. It was noted that investments in the Philippines is just 15% of our gross domestic product and this is very low compared to the ratio in other countries which is around 20% above investments. It seems that agriculture would be a very good sector. It would play an important role if we can bring more investments into agriculture. As we know, 70% of the poor are in rural areas and with this project, through the BIONet congress you can play a role. I just wanted to give that context as to how we could all contribute to Philippine Economic Growth and Philippine Agricultural Growth with the leadership of Secretary Yap. He wants an agribusiness-oriented approach. We must not look at just production but also go into processing, into high value ventures to have more profit for our farmers and fisherfolks. We, at the DA, are delighted to know that the agricultural sector has become conscious of its potent role in national development and aware that the unity of producers, the academe, the scientific community, the private sector and the government would bring to the forefront our collective desire to promote biotechnology. Biotechnology can become a significant factor in increasing farmers’ incomes through the wider propagation of new crop varieties developed through the use of genetic engineering, tissue culture and cross breeding. All of which translate into higher yield, better tasting and nutritious food, and higher incomes for direct producers. We take this opportunity to commend the officials behind the promotion of BIONet as the magnet for the biocommerce centers nationwide. All of which apply the benefits of biotechnology and encourage trading and wider dissemination of better crops, fruits and other agricultural products. We certainly support the initiatives of BIONet Philippines to organize more communities, expand its existing networks and promote the idea of cultivating the agricultural biotechnology product in many farmlands in the country. Today, we can proudly say that research and development on rice, sugar, cassava, corn, papaya and a host of other products, and even the lowly malunngay that is noted for its nutritive value, and the natural ingredients, that its progress has intensified to the extent that we now see to the possibility that our farmers would enjoy a comparative advantage in production, in processing, and in marketing of these products vis-à-vis competing nations. Side by side, with the scientific work and the task of organizing more farmers to benefit from the products of biotechnology, a line of work that requires a lot of convincing, a lot of debating, and a lot of encouragement, we have to encourage more producers to accept the legitimacy, the viability, and the necessity of biotech products. It is on this core that we site the work of the Biotech PIU headed by Dir. Alice Ilaga, who has been organizing politicians and farmers alike along with academician, students, and other stakeholders in the agricultural sector. As we embark on consolidating the games of biotech in the Philippines, we are now compelled to work on maximizing the benefits of agricultural innovations. We must hasten to add that the new policy is to expand the network where it is needed most and we need this most particularly in the ten poorest provinces in the country. Bionet has already convinced a number of LGUs to organize themselves as part of the network, and, if the statistics are correct, then it has taken root in practically all of the three main island regions in the Philippines. Moreover, many farmers and NGOs had been convinced that biotech works for their benefit, and they have now shaken off their fear of this previously unknown animal and misunderstood biotech. We all know that this is a rapidly changing world and we need some cutting edge technology to make our farmers more progressive. In this regard, biotech can perform a very crucial role. We should all work together to make biotech become fruitful for the interest of the farmers. BIONets have become as sharp as a bayonette in cutting through the web of fears, of ignorance and superstition, and of prejudice. Thus far, the bioech revolution has found its place in Negros Oriental, Laguna, Southern Luzon, Northern Luzon, Central Luzon, CARAGA region, Mindoro, Bulacan, the two Lanao provinces, Davao and Nueva Vizcaya. In these areas, thousands of hectares have become BIOCommerce hubs and many more farmlands would eventually turn to biotech to produce crops, fruits and other agricultural commodities that have higher demands in both the domestic and foreign markets. Moreover with the high demands in both the pharmaceutical and nutriceutical industries for natural ingredients, like papaine from papaya, the nation can soon be a key player in the multibillion-dollar global market. We are looking forward to that. And, with the commitment of the scientific community to promote biotech products and the pledge of companies to market natural ingredients and process biotech products, it is not far fetched to project that in no time the Philippines would have a distinct advantage and higher market share in the global market. So ladies and gentlement, I started off with that big picture of the Philippine economy and how agriculture can contribute. Dir. Alice has pointed out in the slide that we are trying to harness the power of life. So now I would like to end this short talk by giving the challenge to you. It is now the challenge for you to play that important role of harnessing the power of life. That power now is yours. Thank you very much and I am looking forward to a very productive workshop this morning. One of the highlights of the event was the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the two products that have captured the world market – atsuwete and malunggay. June Rodriguez and Nanet Tanyag of BMARC served as the moderators for this part of the Congress. Another major highlight of the Congress was the launching of the Biotechnology Course of Local Government Units led by Nanet Tanyag of BMARC. NANET TANYAG: We are moving to the 2nd part of our BIOnet congress. You have seen how BIONets have taken leaps and bounds in terms of promotion and advocacy, and probably you will be surprised that, as part of institutionalizing biotech, not only as a source of income, but a way of life, the BMARC together with the DA have come up with a course on biotech. This biotech course is for the LGUs particularly. This means that the course is intended for local chief executives, municipal and provincial agriculturists and the other involved staff. All the participants here representing the different provinces that use this course for their respective areas and can be applied to the different involved sectors. This would provide a broader and more comprehensive understanding of biotechnology as applied in the Philippines. I’d like to call on Father Edicio dela Torre, who drew the course on biotech, which will be later implemented by the Mayor’s Development Center of the LMP (League of Municipalities of the Philippines). This is an important undertaking as local chief executives would be able to study the course and pass it on to our fellow Filipinos at the barangay level. This formal biotech education course will be implemented within the LGUs. Father Ed dela Torre, fomer priest and consultant of BMARC introduced the Biotechnology Course for Local Government Units by presenting its objectives and importance in the biotechnology information and education campaign, as part of the biotechnology initiatives of DA, in cooperation with the involved partner organizations. EDICIO DELA TORRE: Good morning everyone, I only have a few slides to introduce the course. You will be getting your copies later this afternoon with the arrival of Mayor Calderon who is the Director of the Mayor’s Development Center of he LMP that is also a co-sponsor of this biotech course. He will give the formal endorsement and introduction of the biotech course. My presentation will provide you with an idea of what the course on biotech for local devlopment is all about. I will also try to include some insights on how we can strengthen and sustain your local biotech programs. In the beginning, I myself did not know very much about biotechnology except that when I hear it, GMOs will first come to my mind. I immediately reacted when they offered this project to me and said that I would first take a look at it to be sure if I am willing to take the job. I remember a particular event that I consider a ‘moment of revelation’. I was with Dir. Alice when I learned about natural ingredients, which was one of the directions for biotechnology in the Philippines. If you look at the title, Biotechnology for Local Development, you can see that it is not a course on biotechnology alone. In fact, only one-third of the book actually talks about biotechnology. Indeed, there is too much to learn about biotechnology and the other speakers later will tell you more about this. The other two-thirds of the course talks about local development. It talks about both what LGUs can do and, more importantly, as discussed in the biotech road map earlier, how public-private partnerships are formed. Without this partnership, even if you put all the local government units and NGOs together, biotechnology would remain weak. Why? It is simply because both are not fully adept with the demands of the business. We are fond of giving grants because we have the budget but we don’t know how to sustain it. On the other hand, in the private sector, we think all is about the profits, and we see that as a cue for development. But if we can bring public and private together, we might be lucky and hopefully, it might work for everyone. The development of the course was first initiated in 2005 when the DA and the LMP signed an MOU to develop a biotech course for LGUs. Mayor Calderon will tell you about it. On their own, the League of Mayors were saying that we have to take this area for development seriously. But they said, instead of getting random speakers to teach the course, why not let the mayors themselves teach using their past experiences and acquired knowledge. So they conceptualized the Mayor’s Development Center (MDC), which they said that would somehow be controvertial since it could be possible that unwanted issues (like on jueteng) would be proliferated through the Center. But it was the serious efforts of the LMP that eventually institutionalized the center. I was attracted to this since they were utilizing the very concept of learning and teaching in our NGO, Education for Life. We put a premium of life experience as a main source of learning. Our slogan is ‘education from life, for life and throughout life’. Its better said in Filipino, ‘hango sa buhay, tungo sa buhay, habang may buhay’. I am really hoping that the MDC, which is just starting, will really develop into a full-blown development center. The MDC has three kinds of courses. The 1st, the standard one, is a seminar-workshop. It cannot be withdrawn that when it comes to in-house seminar-workshops, our first question is where it will be held. If it is in Boracay, everybody will attend. When the venue is not that enticing, some will be reluctant to attend. However, these are still things that you cannot avoid. It is not normally based on how good the discussions will go or how effective the readings will be. But normally, if you look at the seminar-workshop, the main expenses are not really the learning aspect. The main expenses are the travel expenses, and board and lodging. That is why, sometimes, there is a correlation between expenses and learning. Having said that, the mayors have also pioneered on ‘lakbay-aral’. This is different in a sense that you can share your stories in the seminar while showing the reality of what happens in your area. The ‘lakbay-aral’, in fact, will be a crucial element for the BIONet because the issue will now be ’who has something to show?’ This will open up opportunities for the promotion of BIONet where there is LGU initiative wherein they can show how farmers have increased their production and income, where they can show effective public-private partnerships. Now we have ‘distance-learning’. What is distance learning? For most of us, the distance-learning concept is similar to a correspondence course. The initial reason why we decided to utilize the distance-learning concept, despite the presence of seminar workshops and lakbay-aral, is its practicality. Can you imagine, we want to, in theory, give training in 1,500 municipalities. And, we can say that only at least 10 will actually utilize that training. If we include all the mayors, MPDOs, MAOs, etc., that would reach up to 150,000 individuals. That would, indeed, require a big budget. It would also require a large number of resource persons that would have to go around and conduct the trainings. So, for practical purposes, we thought of distance learning to ensure that many can avail of the training even with our limited time and budget. This is why we opted for conceptualizing a distance learning type of program. Now, what is distance learning? Distance learning, as the name implies, goes around the problem of reaching distances. In a normal classroon where you have teachers and students, there is no ‘distance’. We had to conceptualize a strategy where you would go around the distance both from your classmates and from the teacher. That is why, while distance learning describes the physical arrangement, the core educational principle of distance learning is called self-directed learning and autonomous learning. This means that the student himself must be dedicated to learning. He would dictate his pace and extent of learning. This puts a premium on personal, individual motivation and discipline, which means this could be hard if you come to think about it. You will have to go over the problem of motivation. This is how we came about with our alternative. In distance learning, your workbook becomes your teacher. The workbook is the 1st product that will be presented to you. The premise is that the workbook should be something that can be easily read and understood without requiring someone to explain it to you. This is why it took us some time to make the design of the workbook. Moreover, the workbook is not a textbook. One can just read the textbook. With the workbook, you don’t just read, you also have to accomplish the exercises or learning activities provided. For example, when the workbook asks what are your existing biotech products, you will have to check for yourself by accomplishing a checklist and by interviewing your municipal agriculturist. You will have to accomplish the assignments provided by the workbook. Distance learning also requires you to join a learning group. This would foster not only individual discipline but also group discipline. For example, in a municipality, when you enroll in a distance-learning course, you must belong to a learning group composed of, at most, 15 members that has to meet from time to time. In the learning group sessions, members will have to present the results of their activities or assignments. In the cases where we have run courses like this for farmers starting in 1997, there are still incidences of cramming. This is an example of how motivation and discipline are important in this aspect. This shows the importance of individual discipline and motivation complementing group discipline and motivation. What is innovative in the Philippines, according to a british expert who looked at our course, is we do away with the MDCS, which means that the tutor won’t necessarily be a content expert. The tutor is just a process expert. He will only serve as the facilitator. The facilitator, who is also a learner, wil; be trained ahead of time and will be responsible in checking the progress of group members from time to time. The learner-facilitator would also arrange the group learning sessions and will facilitate the reporting of the progress of each individual member. I reiterate that the facilitator need not be a content expert. What’s important is he will be in charge of pushing the motivation of his members. The facilitator can also invit other speakers that can share their experiences to the group. For the BIONet, we can actually provide a list of resource persons who they can invite in their sessions. The clear difference here is the emphasis on self-reliance. The learners should first thoroughly study the workbook. Learners must get over the intimidating factor of biotechnology and remember that they need not be experts to start the using the workbook. There can be instances where people think that the workbook would be hard to read and understand but there has been recent research into learning to prove otherwise. When others ask, when is learning more effective and when is it faster compared to others? There were two principles raised for this. First is that we learn faster when we consider learning as not a form of consumption. For example, as I speak now, you listen and you accept it but it does not necessarily mean that you would remember it tomorrow. We learn faster upon discovery and creation. You would learn faster if you actually preach what you learn as soon as possible. As you explain things, you would understand it more through time. This would be especially true for Filipinos because we love to tell stories to others – ‘kwentuhan’. This is another reason why learning groups are much more advantageous. With regards to the design, the workbook is composed of three modules. We made sure that the workbook won’t be that think so as not to intimidate the intended readers. Two more resource books will be accompany the workbook to provide the other necessary information that the reader might want to read more on. A print material on the Significant Change Stories containing stories of LGUs and farmers who have adopted biotech and became successful with it is one of the resource books. This will also include articles from the scientists and the pioneers of biotech industries. There will also be a CD that will be done by Joel Saracho containing interviews of local officials, farmers, entrepreneurs, scientists, and the other involved players. The print material and the CD will accompany the workbook, but it is only the workbook that will be really studied by the learner. For example, in a municipality, if a mayor wants to have their own learning group that should be composed of 7 to 15 individuals, the mayor should invite his staff who can participate, especially those who have related work, and designate a group leader or facilitator. Remember that the facilitator is also a learner so this individual needs to undergo some prior training, which can take about 3 days where he will review the course and get tips on facilatation. With this training, he can then start being a learner-facilitator. The three modules were actually mentioned by Alice earlier. These modules are all about harnessing the power of life. This involves three power issues namely: the power of biotech, the power of innovation in local governance, and the power of public-private partnership. Again in education and learning, there is a simple principle that you must start with the known towards the unknown. You must start with were people feel confident towards where there less confidence and security. In dealing with biotechnology, there are a lot of insecurities because of the technology. Thus, if the whole thing is just on biotech, we feel that people might get insecure, especially the mayors. The next slide is a brief overview of the modules. The 1st module, the power of biotech, one of the exercises here is to draw a mindmap. The concept of a mind map, invented by a British national, is a way of both organizing and remembering your ideas. You will draw a map using your mind while using the key words in the couse. Every learner draws what he remembers from the keywords. For biotech, there is a definition. There is modern and traditional biotech, which Alice mentioned earlier. We also included the different hopes and fears about biotech. Actually, they say that the main product of biotech can be reduced to categories – food, fiber, fuel, feedstock and pharmaceuticals. Others, especially those in UP, ask why there is no forensics and others. The whole point is that in every one of these categories, there is biotech. That is the 1st module. The 2nd module is on innovation. The first one in the left asks, who are the most innovative? We will set different criteria in finding out who are the most innovative. The last one is on the appreciative inquiry. We have been trained traditionally in development studies to do gap analysis. We fill try to identify the areas where we need to fill the gaps. However, there is a new approach now called appreciative inquiry. If critical inquiry says what is wrong, what is not working, and how can we fix it. Appreciative inquiry, on the other hand, will start by saying what is going on right now and how can we deal with it. Instead of looking for the gaps, we will immediately train people based on what we have now and what is working. This can be in a broad sense where we can choose whether we want to pursue natural ingredients, biotech, local government innovation, etc. If you have a skilled technician, a farmer that is open-minded, and academicians that are willing to help, you should work with that. The last module is about public-private partnerships. One aspect of public-private partnership is communication. We used here the work of Howard Garner, a Harvard Professor who pioneer the theory of multiple intelligences. He says that being intelligent is not only being good with words and numbers. There is also intelligence in music, arts, etc. He says that if you want to convince others that your research is significant, you should consider your resonance and emosion, aside from your scientific arguments. This was the initial problem with biotechnology because researches on the technology did not get the sympathy of the people. Also, they underestimated the emrging resistances. This module then becomes an important guide to continuously promote biotech. This is especially true for the BIONets because we need to continuously promote it without creating a backlash. Another factor that makes this course significant is also based on the earlier statements. The learning and training does not simply end by saying that they already know enough about biotech – we know the innovations, the partnerships, and we already have an action plan. The course will not be simply completed by people saying that they finished the course. They will have to produce assignments on planning and how to promote biotech in the municipality. The production of the action plan should be the end result of the course. So, that is the course. I will end with an interesting quote. What do you think is much stronger than sex drive in this world? They say that the drive to learn is the only thing stronger that sex drive because it starts earlier and last longer. Now I ask you, why is learning boring? Why is it not sexy? Why is it considered a duty or a burden? The whole point is we need to make learning exciting. That is our challenge. Because it is really true, learning does start earlier and will last longer. A lot of the so-called information, education, and communication campaigns just inform, it doesn’t address the motivation of people. I am very glad it is during this BIONet National Congress that this will be launched. By itself, it will be depended only on the key mayors, but with BIONet being developed, they will have mutual reinforcements. This will be one resource for your own promotional education campaign and vice versa. Meanwhile, BIONet will reinforce the leaders. We must remember that things does not change all at once. There will always be those that would be early adoptors, and I am very happy to present this today to the early adoptors, the leaders, and the sharp one’s. Thank you. The second part of the BIONet National Congress is on institutionalizing the BIONet. To give a brief background of the development in biotechnology, Dr. Saturnina Halos, Chairman of the DA Technical Advisory Committee, prepared a slide presentation on the Trends on Biotechnology. DR. SATURNINA HALOS: Good morning to everyone. I’m glad you were able to make it despite the election campaigns going on. For this part of the program, we will be talking about the trends in biotechnology. It was mentioned earlier that there are two directions biotechnology is going – modern and traditiona. We will first tackle modern biotech. We all know about GM crops. Genetically modified crops, like Bt cron and round-up ready soybean that are already in our market. Last year marks the 2nd decade of commercialization of biotech. There is a 13% increase in the hectarage for GM crop planting. It was from 90 million hectares in 2005 to 102 million hectares in 2006. The planting areas for GM crops are fast increasing. Way back in 1993, it was zero. In 1996, it reached 102 million hectares. With the fast increasing use of GM crops, biotechnology is considered the fastest growing technology used by farmers all over the world. In fact, there are 10 million farmers planting GM crops in 2006 compared to 8.5 million in 2005, and 90% of those who plant GM crops are small-scale farmers. Now, there are a total of 22 countries wo are planting GM crops. Eleven of these are developing countries like China, India, and the Philippines, while the other 11 are industrialized countries. Since the US was the first to plant GM crops, they remain to have the largest area of GM crop-planted farms. Argentina, a developing country, comes in second, followed by Brazil, Canada, India then China. Forty percent (40%) of the global biotech crop area can actually be found in developing countries. The EU countries are the most active in anti-GMO campaigns, however, their GM crop fields are also growing in number. There are now six countries in the EU who plants GM crops from just five. Spain, who is number one, France, Portugal, Czech Republic, Germany and Slovakia are the EU countries planting Gm crops. The number one biotech crop is soybean, followed by corn, cotton, and then canola. Now there are also GM squash and tomato. The most dominant characteristic of GM crops is being herbicide-resistant. Another characteristic is being insect-resistant or pest-resistant. Most of these are the Bt kind, getting its name from the gene from Bacillus thuringiensis. The 3rd is what we call the ‘stock trait’, which means it has two characteristics. For example, plants can become herbicide-resistant, as well as insect-resistant. GM crops with stock traits are those that are proliferating nowadays. This is also what we have here in the Philippines. The economic benefits are the main reason why farmers get interested in planting GMOs. A study shows that within 10 years, US$ 27 billion was earned by farmers from planting GM crops. Thirteen (13) billion of which came from developing countries while 14 billion came from industrialized countries. Another Bt crop that is now gaining recognition is Bt trees, where 1 million of it was said to be planted by China in 2006 alone. In the US, a new crop is the herbicide tolerant alfalfa. The most recent is the virus-resistant papaya which was recently approved for production by China. Studies in pharmaceutical plants are now also widening. Some of these plants involved are those that produce drugs like insulin. Another trend is the increase of production of biofuels. This is brought about by efforts to limit the use of fossil fuels due to its availability and effect to the environment. This trend is evident in the Philippines with the current approval of the Biofuels Act. We have two products involved here – ethanol and biodiesel. Coconut oil is one of the biodiesel products and this is also where jathropa comes in. For ethanol, we have ethanol from sugar cane and also from sweet sorghum. The ethanol production process also involves the use of live organisms – yeast. Yeast has really vast application here in the Philippines like in the production of beer and bread. Now, we have a major concern in producing ethanol due to the low turn-out from our crops, especially in sugar cane. We only get 10% from the plant. The 90% is thrown away causing some environmental concerns. In fact, five years ago, we closed an ethanol plant due to these concerns. That is what should be our direction today – to find a way to decrease the waste produced by ethanol processing plants. Now, research is being undertaken in modifying yeast that would boost ethanol production to as high as 18%. We are now also currently working on the delayed-ripening trait in fruits and vegetables like papaya, mango and tomato. With this, we can control the early ripening of these products to lengthen their shelf life. In the case of papaya, we just alter the gene that controls the ripening so that ripening can be delayed. The gene used here also comes from the papaya. Delayed-ripening papaya is now in the field-testing stage. These crops are now growing in green houses and they will soon make its way to the farmers. Another product in the field testing stage is the golden rice. We have two varieties of this. The gene used here was taken from the daffodil flower, which we do not have here in the country. The new variety has a gene taken from corn. This is much more realizable for us. With all of these, we can see that our scientists are really working hard to meet our needs. By the end of the year, we would also be field-testing the Bt eggplant. This will increase the quality of our eggplants being sold in the market. The usual practice is to spray the eggplant with pesticides three days before harvesting. There are even some instances that eggplanst are directly soaked in pesticides which increases the danger to the health of the Filipino consumers. The IPB is working hard to complete their field-testing of this Bt eggplant. Another product we are working on now is the virus-resistant tomatoes. Two or three viruses affect tomatoes so they are coming up with multi-virus-resistant varieties in the IPB. They are also working on virus-resistant papaya and abaca, and Bt cotton. For traditional biotechnology, we can see increased use of biofertilizer and bioenhancers. These products are growing in number in the market. We have bio-N, vital-N, etc. In the natural ingredients industry, they are currently doing tissue-culture research on malunggay and sambong. These studies will show if we can mass-produce or mass-propagate these crops using the tissue-culture technique. The advocacy for biotech has been going on for some time now. In fact, advocacy for biotech started way back in 1999. This is when the issue on Bt corn and other GM crops escalated. These crops were actually being imported. Now, the government and the academe is working close together to come up with our own biotech products. The real concern is how to deliver these products to the farmers. Another concern is educating the farmers of the real advantages of agricultural biotechnology applications. Thank you very much. Dr. Nina Barzaga, President of BCP and professor of Medical Microbiology in the College of Public Health in U.P. Manila, gave another presentation on Network Building in Biotechnology. DR. NINA BARZAGA: This last presentation is actually a summary of what we have taken up this morning. But, I have put in very simple words. So, what is networking and, specifically, what is BIONet? We have already done a lot of networking in biotechnology, especially with our fellow scientists. Now we are very happy that the past scientist-to-scientist networking is now going down to the people, to the communities where there will be benefits for all. BIONet is not only local devevelopment, but it is actually countryside development. Agricultural biotechnology for countryside development has been going on for long now. We have recognized that life sciences and biotechnology can be joined together through information technology leading to a knowledge-based economy. Our economy will improve as a result of our increased knowledge in the sciences, and this will create new opportunities for our societies and our economies. This is especially important for the LGUs. In many of the gatherings here and abroad, the question of how globalization, genomic research and genetic research can reach the people always comes up. Can these technologies really benefit the ordinary individual? It is always said that technology must reach the grassroots level. A key concern is the developing countries like the Philippines because they say that we do not have sufficient capacity to reap the potential socio-economic benefits of biotechnology. For instance, agricultural biotechnology has already been introduced to us but it has not actually reached the grassroots communities were its adaptation could be maximized. Farmers who plant GM crops continuously increase and, hopefully, those who would benefit from it would, too. We already all know that maximizing agricultural biotech at the countryside could result in a significant increase in job opportunities in the provinces, increase in income performers, and, of course, increase in income for our local government units. It also means commercialization of our research products, especially those that were locally created. I am now currently engaged in research on edible vaccines and I look forward to the day when we can say that this was made by Filipinos and will be used by the Filipinos. Ultimately, it will mean an increase in the level of biotechnology innovation in the country, and a recognition of what Filipino scientists can do. What we want is ‘tatak pinoy, gawang pinoy, para sa pinoy’. What can we do to bring this down to the grassroots? I salute Director Ilaga and her cohorts for conceptualizing the BIONet or bionetworking. This networking will serve as a passway for countryside development. This is a tool that can unite the best resources in human and infrastructure potentials in various regions in the country. We really need networking for this because we can do it on our own. Networking will promote mutually beneficial relationships between technology and developers. The BIONet, which us short for Biotechnology Information and Organization Network formalizes partnerships between government and private stakeholders advocating for biotechnology, both at the national and local level. If we limit this to the national level, only a few will benefit as compared to when we bring it down locally, in the grassroots. Furthermore, BIONet is, first and foremost, an information resource. This is where you can get the information on what are the recent trends and developments in biotechnology. Through the BIONet, you can be informed of how to avail, how to make it acceptable, and how to properly and efficiently grow the crops. BIONet is an information resource for farmers and all stakeholders, including finance institutions and the larger community. The BIONet helps organize partnerships and biotech enterprises or BIOCommerce. BIONet is truly promising because it has a defined goal. This goal is towards BIOCommerce. This is also supported by the promotion of agribusiness, which is inline with Secretary Yap’s goal for his term. BIONet could also be the information resource on world markets trends. It would be good if all the BIONets, biotech towns, and involved agencies were linked together through the internet so that everyone can avail and be informed of the current trends, the market situation, and the global demand and prices. In the US, this is already working for their farmers. Of course, we are not the US, but since we already have access to the internet, we can start setting this up strategically. In the world market, neutraceuticals, dietary supplements, and functional foods and herbals are in demand. These take the largest chunks in the dietary supplements industry. This holds true due of the growing demand of the aged population for products that could combat their health problems, and even products that could make them look younger. For the neutraceuticals, people demand for either nutritious drinks, cosmetics, so on and so forth. One such product that is in demand today is papaine that is said to be a skin whitening and beautification agent. In the Philippines, fortification of staple food is actually mandated by law. You can actually see a lot of nutritious drinks that are sprouting in the market. We must not also forget medicinal or pharmaceutical products. Nowadays, many people move away from prescription drugs and go for natural products instead. This is most likely where we are headed for. Additionally, natural ingredients that are growing in popularity now are actually only new applications of old crops. We have been eating papaya since time immemorial and who would have thought that papaine from papaya has many other uses. This means we are adding value to the traditional crops. So instead of selling papaya as food, we can now sell papaya for the natural ingredients industry at a higher price. The case is the same for malunggay. Malunggay has a vast potential in being an additive for fortification. It is only now that we have known of this. Atsuwete also has potential as it can be used as a natural food color. The DOH actually has a list of our natural products that have medicinal properties. If we are to study all of these, we can see the vast potential of our resources. We can boost our agricultural sector once communities start planting such crops and industries invest in processing plants. As the market for these products gradually develops, other new products continue to find its way to the market. It will continuously develop. In essence, our local markets should really be supportive of Pinoy biotech. Aside from these, we can also apply biotechnology in propagation of trees and flowers. Our country has a vast assortment of flowers that can be marketed. Some potted plants that flower can be engineers to produce different shades of colors, sizes and shapes. Farmers want to make their flowering plants smaller to make it easier for watering and harvesting of flowers. They also want to improve the shelf life of cut flowers to make it more profitable in the market. For my part, I am currently conducting extensive research on edible vaccines, specifically a vaccine for rabies that is incorporated in tomatoes. Instead of injecting the vaccine, you just have to eat the tomato. We must not forget that today, we have the 1st BIONet National Congress that actually focuses on BIOCommerce a program designed to help local communities maximize biotech enterprise and livelihood opportunities for local development. Isn’t it nice to hear that you are a biotech town, with bioenterprises? BIOCommerce will help establish biotech towns and BIOCommerce regions. We will now have a network of expertise not in science, but in trading, selling, and even social networking and social mobilization. All of you can become experts in developing your communities. In addition to addressing food security, as we know, institutionalizing these partnerships will create employment opportunities, an increased tax base, and prominence for our LGUs. What else can biotech towns in BIOCommerce regions provide? I see that there will be an efficient economic development project management, marketing and advocacy. It will become more efficient to the members of the community. This will result in a social network focused on business connections. Eventually there will be a showcase of successful partnerships and networking among local stakeholders, government, and in the business and science community. Altogether, our ultimate goal will be to contribute to national development. BIONet, taking into consideration its component projects, can make biotech work for the Filipino people. A national media and advocacy program is also needed for our advocacy. We all say and explain that there are socio-economic benefits in biotechnology. But we still have to build a positive local and legislative environment. LGUs are important players here as their responsiveness is crucial in the establishment of BIONets. It must be made up of a consortium of role players in the community who should be empowered and educated. Linkages are the key here. That is all and I hope you can continue to nework together and be progressive for the Filipino people. |
