Dr. Alexis De Manuel who pioneered the use of Mykovam in Mindanao
Dr. Joy Zarate and UPLB students making a documentary about the uses of Mykovam
A Filipino agricultural scientist is promoting the use of biotech seeds to help local farmers increase crop yields.
Dr. Calixto Protacio, a professor of agronomy at the University of the Philippines-Los Baños, said “biotech seed is a weapon that reaches the farmer and does not need to be trained on improved technology to benefit from the crops grown through genetic improvement.” Reports said biotech is the most rapidly adopted new farming technology in history.
Protacio noted that improved technology seldom reaches the intended targets and that extension workers are not trained appropriately to impart the new knowledge.
“Biotechnology’s potential is to bring science to the countryside even without extension workers. How? Just by giving the farmer improved seed,” Protacio, a US-trained scientist, said.
“If we can incorporate into a seed all that science has to offer, then the fruits of science (actually a seed) would have reached the farmer. This scheme fits in the natural cycle of agriculture where a farmer will secure the best seed he can get,” he said.
Apart from these seeds, he said biotech product may also be a tissue-cultured plantlet.
“But even if produced by tissue culture, especially if by somatic embryogenesis, synthetic seeds can also be produced by encapsulating the somatic embryo in a suitable gel-like medium usually along with everything that the embryo will need- just like a natural seed,” he explained.
Protacio said so far the promise of biotechnology has only been realized commercially in corn.
“Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn’s built-in crop protection capability has reduced the chemical-related expenses for growing the crop and the farmers seem to find it cost effective,” he said.
“The herbicide resistance also incorporated in corn is also relevant to our aging farmers as less labor is required to weed the extensive corn fields,” Protacio said.
He said that while there has been enormous success in propagating Bt corn in the country, commercial seeds developed by biotechnology still have to make their mark in the rice farms and coconut plantations.
“The reason for this is that the private industry invested heavily in corn biotechnology research unlike in the two other crops. Biotech research in rice and coconut are primarily publicly funded. However, the fact that public money is spent on this crops promises that the crop eventually developed will be more relevant to the farmers and the general population,” Protacio said.
Protacio said increasing crop yield would help the government fight hunger and poverty in the country.
The biotech expert also said that government has been working hard to develop “Golden Rice,” which have genes that carry vitamin A. Vitamin A is crucial in battling blindness.
“Nonetheless, experts are still arguing over the practical impact of Golden Rice since vitamin A levels in the variety are still and research has to be done to boost the capability of the strain to harbor a bigger amount of the nutrient,” he said.
Written by: Helen M. flores
Source: Philippine Star
The Department of Agriculture-Biotechnology Program Office (DA-BPO) is eyeing to develop Central Luzon as a hub for agricultural biotechnology products and has conducted a series of seminars in the region to promote the cultivation of crops with many byproducts to raise rural incomes and improve nutrition.
Zambales Governor Amor Deloso and Bataan Vice Governor Serafin Roman attended the seminars in their provinces.
These seminars were attended by farmers, educators, businessmen, non-government organizations (NGOs) and representatives of local government units (LGUs).
Malunggay production was a key topic in the seminars since the versatile tree has proven to be a major source of iron, Vitamin A, zinc and other micronutrients crucial to the improvement of health among children and adults alike.
DA-BPO officials led by Director Alicia Ilaga have been crisscrossing the country to expand the hectarage devoted to malunggay cultivation and in the process have increased the business opportunities offered by the lowly malunggay (scientific name Moringa oleifera Lmk).
Malunggay has also been known to increase the motility of sperm and improve lactation among nursing mothers, which is a boost to children who need to suckle their mothers in order to avoid contracting primary complex, which leads to lung diseases in adulthood.
Other studies conducted in India and other countries showed that the roots of malunggay have anti-cancer agents that can be isolated and used profitably by the global pharmaceutical industry.
Moreover, LGUs interested in joining the biofuel bandwagon also have a ready energy source in malunggay since its trunk can be used to produce ethanol while its seeds are a fount of biodiesel.
Central Luzon is known is the primary rice producer of the Philippines, with 525,700 hectares of land devoted to the staple. Nueva Ecija alone produces about eight percent of the total national production of palay.
The total hectarage for rice comprises 41 percent of the region’s total territory.
Other agricultural products in the region are sugarcane, corn, mango and cutflowers.
In Zambales alone, 25,412 hectares are utilized for rice production.
On the other hand, Bataan has 29,938 hectares earmarked for rice cultivation.
In the seminars conducted by DA-BPO, participants were shown malunggay’s potential as a commodity that has various applications and even bakeries, pastry shops and noodle manufacturers are now using malunggay leaves as ingredients for their products, some of which have already penetrated the international market.
Secura International president Danilo Manayaga also joined the seminars and discussed how how Moringa oil can be profitable for malunggay growers.
He further said that as the world market shifts to biofuel as a primary energy source, the demand for Moringa oil will rise tremedously.
In an interview, Vice Gov. Roman said Bataan is now ready to make malunggay a primary product.
“Bataan is a mountainous area, so maraming upland farming, ang malunggay ay hindi nangangailangan ng maraming tubig, kaya kung upland farming, suitable ang lugar para sa pagtatanim ng malunggay,” he adds.
When asked on the province’s stand on biotechnology, he said Bataan has been cultivating Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn to help the farmers gain more profit. Corn is a prime crop in Bataan.
Roman added other crops like coconut and cassava are open to enhancement through biotechnology.
While the land devoted to farming is small, the people of Bataan are very keen on intensifying agricultural production through the efficient use of farms.
Lagundi, another plant that has gained fame for its medicinal properties, is cultivated in Bataan. A pharmaceutical company in Bagac is planting it and manufacturing various preparations from the active ingredient derived from the plant.
There is also a plan to set up a malunggay nursery in the province to help boost the growing malunggay industry. This, he said, will be realized through the collaborationn of the LGUs and the DA-BPO.
Biotechnology is a major part of Gov. Deloso’s vision to develop Zambales as a key agricultural producer.
His long term plan for Zambales is to create a community that can stand on its own. Biotechnology should play the role of realizing the industrialization of the province as well.
Deloso said that while the province is undergoing industrialization, biotechnology should take care of the food and nutrition needs of the people of Zambales.
“Napapabayaan,” this was his answer when asked on the status of malunggay farming in the province. “Hindi talaga tinutuunan ng pansin. Pero kung mayroon talagang magbibigay ng primary concern diyan, lalaki kasi we can easily adapt to malunggay.”
He also revealed the provincial government’s plan to buy malunggay seedlings and distribute it to his constituents.
Zambales is also working on a project to build a biogas plant, where waste generated by Zambales, including Olongapo, will be used to produce butane.
Aside from Bataan and Zambales, a malunggay nursery has been put up in Tarlac earlier in this year.
This was done through the initiative of BIONet-Pilipinas, an organization that aims to help farmers and stakeholders reach their products to the market, DA-BPO and the LGU. (biolife news service)
Source: Philippine Star
The first Malunggay Congress to be held next week as the country celebrates the 4th National Biotechnology Week will discuss the vallue of the vegetable as food and as a renewable energy source. Malunggay, dubbed by Department of Agriculture-Biotechnology Program Office (DA-BPO) director Alicia Ilaga as the “power gulay,” is also known as a key element in the campaign to reduce malnutrition nationwide, particularly now that up to 40 percent of our people have experienced hunger in the past six months.
As the central focus of the Congress, to be held at the Institute of Small Scale Industries (ISSI) at UP Diliman tomorow, malunggay is seen as appropriate food for more than 20 million Filipinos who consider themselves poor and hungry. Ilaga said malunggay is needed by lactating mothers since it has a high calcium content, which is necessary to produce milk.
She added that malunggay has seven times the Vitamin C in orange, four times the calcium in milk, four times the Vitamin A in carrots, three times the potassium in banana, and three fourth the iron in pechay. Malunggay is a host to many nutrients that are beneficial to the body, Ilaga stressed.
Studies show that every 100 grams of pod contain 2.5 grams protein, 0.1 grams fat, 8.5 grams carbohydrate, 4.8 grams fiber, and minerals such as Calcium (30 milligrams), Phosphorus (110 milligrams), and Iron (5.3 milligrams).
Leaves (per 100 grams) contain 7.5 grams water, 6.7 grams protein, 1.7 g fat, 14.3 g total carbohydrate, 0.9 grams fiber, 2.3 grams ash, and minerals, Calcium (440 mg), Phosphorus (70 mg), Iron (7 mg), Copper (110 ?g) and Vitamin A, and Vitamin C. The leaves also contain different amino acids and estrogenic substances, including the anti-tumor compound, sitosterol, and a pectinesterase.
Water, protein and fiber can be found in the seed kernel (70.74% of seed). The seed oil contains 9.3% palmitic, 7.4% stearic, 8.6% behenic, and 65.7% oleic acids among the fatty acids. Malunggay contains the phytochemical niaziminin, which is found to have molecular components that can prevent the development of cancer cells, a study undertaken in 1992 discovered, and it is correlated with inhibitory ability against superoxide generation.
The first naturally-occuring thiocarbamates, novel hypotensive agents such as niazinin A, niazinin B, niazimicin and niaziminin A and B were isolated from malunggay, Ilaga stressed. Malunggay is being used as a too to combat malnutrition among infants and mothers alike. Three international non-government organizations—Trees for Life, Church World Service and Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization—have preached malunggay as the “natural food for the tropics.”
Leaves can be eaten fresh, cooked, or stored as dried powder for many months without refrigeration, and reportedly without loss of nutritional value. Moringa is especially promising as a food source in the tropics because the tree is in full leaf at the end of the dry season when other foods are typically scarce, Ilaga said.
Source: pia.gov.ph
Scientists today are using genetic engineering to improve the short shelf-life and post-harvest losses of papaya and lessen use of pesticides on eggplants, experts said during a symposium on biotechnology and nutritionally enhanced food crops here. According to Dr. Evelyn Mae Tecson-Mendoza, research professor of Biochemistry at the Institute of Plant Breeding-University of the Philippines Los Banos (IPB-UPLB), the transgenic papaya or genetically modified papaya by recombinant has now longer shelf-life than the ordinary papaya.
“The papaya usually ripens two days after having a full yellow color and you have to eat it on the second or the third day. Otherwise, it won’t be edible. With this technology, we can delay it from 4 up to 14 days,” elaborated Mendoza. Delaying the ripening of papaya was made possible through suppressing the production of ethylene. This was done by inhibiting the ACC synthase from synthesizing through the antisense technology, Mendoza said.
Since 1997, Mendoza has been using molecular techniques to solve the problem on post-harvest losses measuring from 30 to 40 percent and the shelf-life of the papaya. But it was only after 10 years that they conducted the first field testing of a homegrown papaya. Based on the results of the various biochemical testing, Mendoza said the nutritional value of the transgenic papaya is similar to the ordinary papaya noting that both have Vitamin C and antinutrient benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) contents.
Dr. Frank Shotkoski, director of the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II Cornell University, for his part, related that the nutritional values of Bt eggplant and the ordinary eggplant are identical. Both Shotkoski and Mendoza are optimistic about the eventual transfer of the technology to farmers. Shotkoski cited that farmers in India have a high demand for the Bt eggplant. Mendoza disclosed that it will take two years before farmers in the Philippines can use the technology. “Because this is a technology that involves recombinant DNA technologies and there are biosafety regulations. We need to do field testing under biosafety regulations and we’re also into progression of incorporating the PRSV (papaya ringspot virus) resistance,” explained Mendoza.
Meanwhile, Shotkoski deemed it important to analyze the socio-economic impact and risk assessment of the technology. “We don’t want to spend an enormous amount of national public money on a project that has very little or no return on investment. If we plan to spend $2 to 3M on a project and it won’t have any benefit to the consumer or the farmer, then the technology won’t be adapted. We use this as a guide to assess the probability or the likelihood whether the technology would be adapted,” said Shotkoski.
Source: blogs.inquirer.net
Scientists in the Philippines are trying to genetically manipulate the country’s native water buffalo to boost its milk production.Al Jazeera’s Marga Ortigas reports on the Philippines’s plans to cross some of its native cattle with a Bulgarian breed, and then clone them.
This is a good opportunity for Philippines to develop the Dairy Milk Industry. And with developments like this, we could achieve being sustainable in developing our dairy milk industry and not depend on imports. This is not just for the industry but will give livelihood to our farmers which is the most important thing to our country to boost there incomes. I don’t see this as genetically modifying but crossing 2 species to give a hybrid species of cattle. Cloning is a process to produce faster and replicating a species like plants and even animals. This is what the Philippines must be doing, investing in biotechnology. We have good agriculturists and scientists in the Philippines. Instead of going to other countries to improve there agriculture why not invest in them to improve Philippine Agriculture.
Raising Dairy Cows for Milk - http://www.agripinoy.net/raising-dairy-cows-for-milk.html
Video Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN10DOxQEkc
MAKATI CITY — After years of tedious research, Filipino scientist Dr. Baldomero Olivera and his team at the University of Utah discovered a major breakthrough in pain management. Now, deadly pain might have finally met its match in Ziconotide (trade name Prialt).
The breakthrough research was presented by none other than Olivera himself to doctors, scientists, investors, students and the media gathered at the Filipinas Heritage Museum on July 6. His talk, “Turning Killers into Pain Killers”, was part of Innovation Forum, a series of bi-monthly forums on various technologies sponsored by the Ayala Foundation and InfoDev.
Seaside discovery
This major discovery opens a new drug pipeline for pain and other serious diseases. Olivera is among the few scientists who have chosen to tap animal wildlife as a pharmacological source of treatment.
Olivera developed a keen interest in seashells as a young boy in the Philippines. He would gather and bring them home so he could compare them with the diagrams in the pages of his books on marine life.
Cone Snail
One particular seashell, the cone snail, became the focus of Olivares and his team. Studying them had been like second nature to Olivares since cone snails are abundant in tropical countries like the Philippines. The team’s curiosity was particularly aroused by the duality of the seashell being exquisite on the outside but highly lethal on the inside. After further research, they found out that the cone snail’s venom which contains conotoxins has an equally antidotal effect. Conotoxins is now being considered to yield new drugs for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and other brain disorders aside from pain.
Moreover, Olivares’ interest in sea cone snails became instrumental in his discovery of a new pharmaceutical class called conopeptides, the active ingredient in Ziconotide. And in 1992, Olivera’s team was able to determine the analgesic-like qualities of conopeptide. From there, Ziconotide was made available to the public via Prialt.
Non-narcotic pain relief
Before Prialt, there was morphine, a highly potent opiate analgesic drug that effectively relieves severe pain. Morphine, however, is a narcotic – a controlled substance and therefore not readily accessible to those who need urgent relief from extreme pain.
Prialt, on the other hand, has none of the habit-forming qualities of morphine. Administered via a spinal pump, patients now have a safer pain-killing alternative. Prialt is believed to be more powerful than morphine. In recent years, Prialt has been the better choice for the treatment or management of pain caused by a variety of diseases such as AIDS, cancer, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s.
The US Food & Drug Administration approved Prialt for severe chronic pain in December 2004. Formerly known as Neurex, it was bought in 1998 by Ireland’s Elan Pharmaceuticals for $700 million. In 2005, sales reached $6.1 million, and then doubled in the succeeding year.
The science of pain
Olivera’s three decades of dedication to developing drugs from animal wildlife earned him this year’s “Scientist of the Year” award from the Harvard Foundation. In that span of time he had already published 158 medical abstracts on conotoxins. He had been teaching Biology in the University of Utah since the 1970s where he is currently associate professor and, of course, a renowned scientist.
His colorful career began after finishing Summa Cum Laude at the University of the Philippines in 1960. He then went on to graduate school and earned his PhD in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology. He furthered his specialization doing postdoctoral work at Stanford University.
Olivera then returned to the Philippines and became a research associate professor of Biochemistry at the UP College of Medicine. In 1970, he returned to the US to start teaching in Utah where he has been consistently awarded the title of “Distinguished Professor of Biology” since 1992.
Upended patent
Sadly, Olivera wasn’t able to patent his research. Consequently, he never profited from the sales of Prialt. But Olivera saw that as a challenge. To recoup his investment, in 1996 he founded the Utah-based startup group Cognetix. This pharmaceutical and research company had been developing four conopeptide compounds to treat pain and myocardial infarction.
Olivera now serves as director of the Olivera Lab and has since been leading the way in further research and development of conotoxins – a technological advancement that will definitely benefit mankind.
Written by: Carmie Carpio
Source: www.asianjournal.com
Photo Source: www.publications.nigms.nih.gov
The avocado (Persea americana Miller) is one of the promising fruit-bearing trees in the country. However, the avocado industry is hobbled by problems concerning Phytophthora root rot disease.
Phytophthora is a fungus that causes rapid decay of roots and trunk, eventually leading to the death of the infected avocado tree. Presently, there is no known avocado variety in the Philippines that is resistant to this fungus.
Plant breeders have identified biotechnologies to address this problem. One such method is mutation breeding, which is more socially acceptable compared to the controversial genetic engineering. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), more than 2,000 crops have been improved through mutation breeding. Studies have also shown that mutation, tissue culture, and the combination of both can produce plant varieties of new or improved genetic characteristics.
In order to develop a Phytophthora-resistant avocado variety using a combination of biotechnologies, Dr. Renato A. Avenido, Assistant Professor 7 at the Institute of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), and his research team, conducted a project entitled ‘Generation of Variability in Avocado through in Vitro Mutation and Somaclonal Variation.’ The project was conducted at the Plant Cell and Tissue Culture Laboratory of the Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB), College of Agriculture (CA) from December 2001 to January 2005 with Dr. Avenido (then a University Researcher at IPB) as the chief scientific investigator.
In order to apply mutation breeding, the team had to first establish a working micropropagation system for avocado. A micropropagation system is a procedure for rapid multiplication of plants using tissue culture methods.
The study began with the collection of seeds from immature avocado fruits. From the seeds, small portions of plant tissue (embryos) were allowed to grow (embryogenic cultures) and to differentiate into somatic embryos and shoots. Some of the plant tissue cultures were subjected to gamma irradiation at the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) in order to facilitate mutation from the regenerated plant tissue cultures. During the irradiation, some cells were killed and those capable of regrowth were multiplied. The surviving cells were grown to produce somatic embryos and shoots.
The study, funded by the IAEA, an agency working for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, produced over 400 potential variants and mutants. With this, Dr. Avenido’s group successfully established reproducible tissue culture and gamma irradiation systems for avocado, the first to do so on a woody tropical fruit crop in the Philippines.
In March 2007, the joint CA and CAS project entitled ‘Confirmation, propagation and greenhouse/field establishment of avocado mutants derived from tissue culture and gamma irradiation’ of Dr. Avenido was again funded by the IAEA. The shoots from irradiated and non-irradiated tissues were then treated in a test tube environment to promote root growth and to prepare them for natural growth environment. At present, the team is undertaking the rooting and potting out of the plantlets to enable maximum recovery. The established regenerated plants will then be transferred to the greenhouse, and finally to the field for further evaluation.
Successful propagation of potential mutants will enable subsequent genetic analysis to identify beneficial mutations, and eventually, the release of new and improved varieties of avocado. Not only that, it opens the doors for the same procedures to be undertaken in order to improve other economically important fruit species such as mangosteen, lanzones and selected citrus. This could improve the country’s position as a producer of these highly marketable fruits.
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The paper entitled ‘A Complete Micropropagation System of Avocado from Somatic Embryogenesis to Successful Transplant to Soil and its Application to Mutation Breeding’ that was based on this study received the second prize award in the 2007 AFMA Best Research and Development Paper Award (applied research in agriculture category) given by the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research on Oct. 6, 2007 at the Manila Hotel. The competition had over a hundred entries from R&D institutions and universities all over the country. Dr. Avenido is the senior author of the paper. His co-authors are Prof. Lilian F. Pateña, Julita G. Dimaculangan, Julieta N. Welgas, Jennelyn M. Carandang, and Dr. Ramon C. Barba.
Written by: EBV Bernardo, Published Dec 2007 in The UPLB Horizon
Source: www.uplb.edu.ph
Mycovam Product at Biotech
Mycorrhizal technology has likewise made possible the production of inoculants to significantly improve the survival, growth and establishment of trees and crops. Mycorrhiza are fungi symbiotically associated with plant roots. There are two types- ectomycorrhiza and endomycorrhiza. Ectomycorrhiza are found in association with forest trees such as pines, eucalyptus and dipterocarps, while endomycorrhizal associations are formed in horticultural, forest and agronomic crops (Aggangan 1989).
BIOTECH has produced inoculants for forest trees (ecto- and endomycorrhiza) and agricultural crops (endomycorrhiza). Seedlings in the nursery are inoculated with `Mycogroe’, the commercial name for the ectomycorrhizal inoculant. Endomycorrhiza are made into two products. Mycovam I, a soil inoculant, contains spores and infected root propagules of vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi, while Mycovam II is a granulated form of the VAM inoculant. Both are effective for upland crops such as upland rice, corn, pineapple, sugarcane, peanut, soybean, mungbean, tomato and eggplant; orchard crops such as citrus, guava, soursop, and jackfruit; and tree species used for reforestation.
Source: www.agnet.org
Photo Courtesy of Nash Hipolito
Where to buy Mycovam: BIOTECH in UPLB, Laguna, Tel. no. +63-49-536-0563
“Super Bacteria” to the Rescue
Bacteria as a farmer’s best friend? Doesn’t sound likely. But Filipino scientist has proved it can happen. Dr. Mercedes Umali-Garcia first thought of isolating bacteria from the talahib (saccharum spontaneum L.), a ubiquitous grass found almost everywhere in the Philippines. The germ of the idea took a root almost 10 years ago when she was getting her doctorate degree in soil microbiology from the University of Florida , USA . At that time, the practice of isolating bacteria from plants for various uses was slowly spreading in the international scientific community.
When she arrived in the Philippines , she immediately conducted experiments to see which bacteria can be used to help boost agricultural production, particularly rice and corn. “If I could find bacteria that can increase the yield of our staple products, then this will have a tremendous impact on our national economy,” she explains.
The turning point in her research came when she visited a farming in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija. People complained to her about the poor quality of the soil and the low crop yield. “If the yield is poor, how come you still have food on your table,?” she asked. “They said it was because they can still harvest in a small portion of their land which they cleared of talahib,” she recalls. Her curiosity aroused, she then “took a long, hard look” at the grass and studied it further. She discovered its many properties, including its resilience and ability to thrive even in the harshest conditions. “It was one of the first plants that sprang up in the areas devastated by the eruption of the Mt. Pinatubo .” She notes.
It took her five years of in-depth research, experimentation and continous validation to prove that two strains of bacteria-azospirillum lipoferum and azospirillum brasilense- when converted into fertilizer, can work wonders for corn and rice, respectively.
The fertilizer, called the Bio-N, essentially converts atmospheric nitrogen gas into a form available for use by host plants. It also makes the plant more “naturally resistant” to diseases and even insects, in some cases; thus leading to its description of a “microbial inoculant.”
Essentially, the experiments conclude that Bio-N can be used to substitute up to half the amount of chemical fertilizers currently applied to rice and corn, according to the scientist.
When applied, Bio-N produces corn stalks with thicker leaves and sturdier stems; grains of rice are heavier compared to plants using commercial fertilizers.
“If Bio-N is really a breakthrough in technology, then how come it has taken this long for people to hear about it?” is a common question posed to her by people who visit her laboratory at the National Institute of Molecular Biology an Biotechnology (BIOTECH) at the University of the Philippines , Los Baños, Laguna.
The answer is found in people’s natural fear and skepticism about the unknown. “At first, I was being laughed at by members of the Filipino Scientific community, even by my colleagues here in UP,” Garcia recalls. But the last laugh maybe hers, after all.
Years of research slowly paid off, starting with her receipt of the Pantas Award, the highest award in research given by the Department of Science and Technology.
“My work will only be complete when I see our farmers using and actually benefiting from Bio-N. When that time comes, it will be a giant step toward solving a host of other problems such as unemployment and poverty.”
The Offer of help from the Technology and Livelihood Resource Center was a feather in Garcia’s cap. In line with the TLRC’s renewed focus on assisting projects that promote new technology, the TLRC and BIOTECH-UPLB entered into a memorandum of agreement for the mass production and marketing of Bio-N last December 2001.
It is a joined venture scheme designed for technology-based schemes whereby TLRC provides financial assistance while the proponent provides the technology.
“This is a breakthrough in science and technology that deserves our full support because of its potentially tremendous impact on agriculture and the national economy,” says Luis Guanio, manager of TLRC’s Strategic Technology and Livelihood Development Group.
Since Bio-N can be a substitute for commercial chemical fertilizers, its use will dramatically cut production costs of farmers and contribute to the reduction of the trade deficit since the demand for imported fertilizers will go down, he explains. Projected savings and cost on fertilizer inputs could reach P1,350 per hectare.
Under the terms of joint venture, TLRC will grant the institution P4.8 million for the construction of a production shed, purchase of the necessary equipment and initial operating capital in order to produce the Bio-N on a commercial scale.
BIOTECH-UPLB, on the other hand, is committed to ensure that Bio-N fertilizer will be available throughout the whole period of operation covered by the MOA. Funds generated from the sale of Bio-N will also be used for continuing research, setting up demonstration farms, and training farmers in rice and corn-producing areas.
“Frankly, we were skeptical when TLRC approached us,” says Garcia, recalling a similar reaction from other members of the UPLB-BIOTECH community. She cites numerous instances when investors offered to put in money but left them high and dry after ‘stealing’ the technology.
“With TLRC as our partner, the trust is there and we look forward to a long and fruitful partnership,” she explains.
In recognition of her important work, Garcia has received an award from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Last year, she was awarded the Gawad Saka, which recognizes individual and group contributions to agriculture. The award is accompanied by P1 million to be used for further research on Bio-N’s applicability to vegetables such as onion, pechay, tomato and eggplant.
Despite all the accolades, Garcia says: “My work will only be complete when I see our farmers using and actually benefiting from Bio-N. When that time comes, it will be a giant step towards solving a host of other problems, such as unemployment and poverty.”
BIOTECH
University of the Philippines
College, Laguna 4031
Tel. No.: 536-1620, 536-2721
Source: www.tlrc.gov.ph
