Agricultural Biotechnology Takes the Spotlight in Philippine House of Representatives

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in partnership with ISAAA Inc., the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the House of Representatives of the Philippines successfully conducted the third leg of the 2023 USDA Biotech Outreach Program on August 8, 2023 in the Philippine Congress. The event aimed to promote sound science-based policies to support an enabling environment for the uptake of biotech innovations in the Philippines.

Dr. Nur Azura Adam, Deputy Director for Programs at SEARCA, Dr. Rhodora Romero-Aldemita, ISAAA Inc. Executive Director, Mr. Mark Hanzel, Agricultural Attaché of the USDA Foreign Agricultural Services in Manila, and Hon. Luisa Lloren Cuaresma, Chairperson of the House Committee on Food Security and the Representative of the Lone District of Nueva Vizcaya were all present to give their respective welcome messages to more than 75 participants of the event.

Among the resource speakers was Dr. Romero-Aldemita who talked about global crop innovations in the pipeline for productivity and climate resiliency, while Dr. Marvin Villanueva, Chief of the Department of Agriculture-Livestock Biotechnology Center, discussed the same topic but focused his presentation on livestock. Finally, Dr. Stuart Smyth, Professor and Chair of the Agri-Food Innovations and Sustainability Enhancement at the University of Sasketchewan, joined using an online platform to present the status of international trade and technology transfer that included the current scenario on policy and regulatory landscape. Ms. Clement Dionglay, Project Associate at ISAAA Inc. served as moderator of the event.

The presentations were followed by an open forum, in which the participants that included members of the House of Representatives made some clarifications regarding the status of biosafety regulations in the country. Among those raised was whether the Philippines should have a unified body of authority that will oversee the development and implementation of biotechnology innovations in the country, similar to that of the Climate Change Commission. Likewise, it was also pointed out that such innovations need to reach their intended beneficiaries to make agricultural production more viable in the country and improve the livelihood status of Filipino farmers. Dispelling myths would likely promote acceptance of biotech products by the general public.

Rep. Ray Florence T. Reyes of the ANAKALUSUGAN Party List and Vice-Chairperson of the Special Committee on Food Security gave the closing remarks. The event was deemed timely in the development of policies in the Philippine House of Representatives, as lawmakers will gain a deeper understanding of biotechnology which will support them in drafting effective and unbiased policies that are bound to bring benefits to majority of the Filipinos.

For more information, reach out to knowledge.center@isaaa.org