RP ideal for biotech, says DA official

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has the right tools, proper environment, motivated entrepreneurs, and knowledgeable scientists to advance biotechnology, said a ranking official of the Department of Agriculture (DA).

DA Undersecretary Segfredo Serrano said biotechnology, or technology based on biology, agriculture, food science, and medicine, remains an “uncharted territory” which the country should cash in on. “We should exploit biotechnology. It’s the big market of the future,” he said before an audience of biotechnology stakeholders convened by the DA Biotech.

Serrano said the problem lies on the habit of many Filipinos to show great enthusiasm in the beginning followed by an abrupt loss of interest. “The truth is, we need political will to support our resources, no matter how meager it may be,” he said.

“The DA Biotech Project Implementation Unit (PIU) convened its stakeholders for a consultation meeting to thresh out priority R&D projects it will support this year and seek out possible collaborations with their institutions,” said Dr. Candida Adalla, director, DA Biotech.

These stakeholders include agencies within the DA such as the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), PhilRice, Philippine Carabao Center (PCC), Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI); National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), state colleges and universities (SUCs), and private organizations such as the SPA Association of the Philippines, Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines, and Chamber of Herbal Industries of the Philippines (CHIPI), among others.

“For 2010, one of the things we want to do is to harness biotech in developing the bio-industry for natural ingredients. We will also support applied biotech projects for improving yield, resistance to pests, and adaptation to climate change,” said Dr. Adalla.

Consistent with the DA’s agenda, some of the R&D and capacity enhancement area that the DA Biotech will prioritize for 2010 is the strengthening of the DA Biotech Incubation Facility for natural ingredients, processing of rice bran to produce high value edible oil, bench-scale production of fucoidan from brown seaweeds for medicinal purposes, biotech-based technologies for conservation of shrimp, multi-location field trial for open-pollinated variety Bt eggplant, commercialization of bunchy top virus-resistant high-yielding abaca, and development of animal disease diagnosis kits.

CHIPI president Lito Abelarde said: “We are proposing for the crafting of a national research agenda for this particular sector so we could see through its early commercialization. We think that the problem is in the supply chain. For example, we need a lot of natural ingredients that we mostly import at present because we cannot just simply buy directly from farmers. The missing link is the supply chain.”

Abelarde called for a strong link between researchers and the industry to fill the gap in the timely commercialization of new technologies. He likewise specifically advocated for research on ampalaya, glucosamine, and polycosinol for its significance in the health industry.

According to Abelarde, only the active ingredient charantine from ampalaya known to help blood sugar control has standards set for its use. He said there are other active ingredients from ampalaya that have not been fully explored.

On the other hand, glucosamine, naturally present in the shells of shrimp draws a significant attention from the medical community for evidence of its effectiveness against osteoarthritis while polycosinol comes from a natural mixture of sugar cane wax that has cholesterol-lowering effects.

In line with these recommendations and several others from the biotech stakeholders, Dr. Adalla mentioned the pending enactment of the Bioindustry Development Act of 2009 that will push for stronger policies on biotech development and its growth in the country.

According to this bill (SB 3140), “the Philippine Bioindustry Research and Development Center will be established to ensure innovative and competitive bio-based technologies. It will hold contract research and provide technical services to the public, manage a bio-tech research fund to support off-site research and will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities.”