USAID

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

A cooperative agreement from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) - Philippines Mission to ISAAA provides technical assistance to help the Philippines in the following areas:

  1. strengthening the country’s regulatory framework for agricultural biotechnology and accelerating the development and commercial use of a broader range of biotech products. The USAID grant through ISAAA, supports two locally developed biotech crops -  papaya ringspot virus resistant (PRSV) papaya and fruit and shoot borer resistant (FSBR) eggplant.

  2. identification of new and potential biotechnology applications for the Philippines in forestry, fisheries, livestock, and industrial/microbial biotech for bio-remediation and biofuels production.

  3. increasing the awareness and level of acceptance of the Filipino public on the use of modern biotechnology.

ISAAA is also managing USAID’s support on concurrent capacity building, institutional support, and public awareness activities in the country through its Economic Modernization through Efficient Reforms and Governance Enhancement (EMERGE) Project.

More information about USAID’s commitment on biotechnology can be found at http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/agriculture/biotechnology/index.html and for activities of EMERGE in the Philippines at http://philippines.usaid.gov/oedg_ecopolicy_tierg_emerge.php.