By Rocel C. Felix, The Philippine STAR via SEAMEO SEARCA

The local agriculture sector is increasingly turning to agricultural biotechnology to modernize food production and diversify product outputs.

In the next two to five years, Agriculture Secretary Domingo F. Panganiban said several promising 'Pinoy Biotek' products developed by Filipino scientists will be commercially produced and distributed in the local market as the government steps up efforts to raise agricultural production and meet the requirements of a growing population.

"If we are to raise the productivity of the agriculture sector, we have to eventually put to good use ongoing research and development on agri biotech and see that it is accepted and embraced by farmers," said Panganiban.

BUFFALO

Among the "Pinoy Biotek" products is cloned carabao dubbed "Super buffalo" of the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC), which is currently carrying out a massive artificial insemination program of carabao in Luzon. The PCC will come up with the cloned buffalo within the next two years.

The program aims to teach villagers how to artificially inseminate female carabao with the semen of the "Super Buffalo" to increase milk and meat production. The "Super Buffalo" is bigger in size and produces more milk than the native carabao.

EGGPLANT

Panganiban said the Institute of Plant Breeding of the University of the Philippines Los Baños is also working on Bt (bacillus thuringiensis) eggplant that would be resistant to insects such as whitefly.

Its commercialization would boost farmers, income as consumer demand with its average current production volume of 20,000 hectares annually, continues to outstrip demand for other high-value crops. Eggplant production however, requires the use of costly fertilizers and environmental hazards.

PAPAYA

On the other hand, the Institute of Plant Breeding of the University of the Philippines Los Baños already submitted to the National Committee on Biosafety of the Philippines (NCBP), its application for the field-testing of a GM papaya that is ring spot virus resistant and the delayed ripening papaya that extends the shelf-life of the fruit.

Scientists as well as papaya producers are banking on GM papaya to improve local production and increase the country's share in global papaya trade.

Papaya is a major fruit crop in the Philippines with 94 percent of production used for food and six percent for feed. Although less than four percent is exported, it has substantial economic value because of its varied food and industrial uses.

Some of the preferred varieties are the Solo variety which is popular in the foreign market, the Cavite and Morado specials, while a hybrid cultivar Sinta, the first Philippine-bred hybrid papaya developed by IPB, has found a growing niche in the local market with potential for international sales. In recent years, demand for high papain varieties like red Solo has been increasing because of its growing use for beauty products.

RICE

Another "Pinoy Biotek" product in the pipeline is the multivitamin-enriched rice being developed by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).

COCONUT

The Philippine Coconut Authority is also making progress in coming up with a cadang-cadang resistant coconut variety which would bolster efforts to re-open the exports of fresh coconut to Saudi Arabia, mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The Philippines, for more than five years now, has been barred from shipping fresh coconut to these countries because of the prevalence of cadang-cadang disease in coconut trees.

Cadang-cadang pest infestation is endemic in the Bicol region and has spread over Quezon provinces including Polillo Island, its boundary with Aurora and Homonhon Island in Eastern Samar. The highly contagious disease that can spread easily from one coconut tree to another results in the premature decline and death of coconut and palm trees in the Philippines associated with viroid infection.

FISHERIES

In the fisheries sector, Panganiban said the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is also developing improve breed of tilapia and milk fish (bangus) that are better-tasting, fast-growing and can live in different conditions.

Recently, BFAR came up with tilapia that can survive in cold and salt water, and are now being cultured in upstream waters of the Cordillera region and Mindanao.

BIO-PHARMING

In the area of bio-pharming, one product that has commercial potential is the edible vaccine being developed by Dr. Nina Gloriani Barzaga, of the College of Public Health of the University of the Philippines.

The edible vaccine in banana and tomato is currently in the pipeline and scientists are seeking a P50 million to P100 million funding to make the edible vaccine available in seven to 10 years. Panganiban stressed the agriculture sector has to rely more and more on breakthroughs in agri-biotech to increase food production to solve the problem brought about by the diminishing land area devoted to food production.

In the last 10 years, about 500,000 hectares have been converted for industrial, commercial and residential uses, and only through modern agriculture technology that the country can cope with the increasing demand for food. In 2003, the country released the Bt corn that is resistant to the dreaded Asian corn borer. Bt corn is induced with the Bacillus thuringiensis, a bacteria known to be the natural enemy of corn borer.

This significantly raised corn yield while reducing the need for expensive chemical pesticides. "We should continually harness agri-biotech programs in various areas such as varietal improvement if we want the agriculture sector to really rake off. While working on these, the government should also provide an environment to encourage the private sector to also start their own initiative and see primary clients, which are the farmers, and more so, the consumers," said Panganiban.