Philippine Secretary of Agric Calls for Paradigm of Cooperation in S&T, Biotech

The challenge for the Philippine government which has registered "more than 27 consecutive quarters of economic growth" is to sustain and translate the benefits it has gained to the poorer classes who still remain the biggest sector in the country. One of the challenges is to increase collaboration between the Department of Agriculture, other science and technology units as well as agencies of government and state colleges and universities, and the private sector to push the agence of science, biotechnology, and technology transfer. These perspectives were forwarded by Secretary Arthur Yap of the Philippine Department of Agriculture during a public seminar on the global status report of commercialized biotech/GM crops held in Manila, Philippines.

Secretary Yap called for a paradigm of cooperation so that different sectors can help in disseminating information to encourage a greater understanding by the public on what science in general, and biotechnology, in particular can do. He called on the audience composed of academics, the science community, representatives from government and the private sector, as well as the farming community to identify what science or biotechnology can do for the rural communities, search out centers of excellence, and partner with the various sectors to use technologies to help alleviate poverty.

Additional information on biotech in the Philippines can be sourced from the SEARCA Biotechnology Information Center by emailing spt@agri.searca.org.