Filipino Senior High School Students Undertake Agri-biotech Boot Camp

Senior high school students and their science teachers from the University of the Philippines Rural High School; Regional Science High School for Region 2; West Visayas State University-Integrated Laboratory School; and Mindanao State University-College of Education Training Department took part in the Agri-biotech Boot Camp held last November 16-18, 2016 at the Headquarters of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and UP Los Baños - Institute of Plant Breeding (UPLB-IPB).

The boot camp exposed the students to issues and trends in agricultural biotechnology through lectures on the agriculture landscape in Southeast Asia, agriculture offerings in UPLB, biotechnology applications in crops, livestock, and fisheries; and hands on exercises on DNA extraction and edible landscaping. The participants also visited the International Rice Research Institute where they learned about Golden Rice in the Philippines, as well as on national biotech research initiatives during their visit at the UPLB's National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. The last day involved interactive games on biotech facilitated by the student organizations UP League of Agricultural Biotechnology Students (UP LABS) and UP Genetic Researchers and Agricultural Innovators Society (UP GRAINS).

The three-day activity was spearheaded by SEARCA's Biotechnology Information Center in partnership with UPLB-IPB, the Philippine Genome Center, UP Rural High School, UP LABS, and UP GRAINS. The event was also part of the celebration of SEARCA's 50th Anniversary and the 12th National Biotechnology Week.

For more information about biotechnology in the Philippines, visit SEARCA BIC webiste.