Biotech Offers Sustainable Solutions, Says BCP Adviser

Food security, affordable energy, access to water, climate change and pollution, and healthcare – these are among the pressing issues that need to be addressed globally. One emerging technology that strives to address these areas and offers sustainable solutions for the future, is biotechnology. Dr. Benigno Peczon, member of the Board of Advisers of the Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines, said in a recent convention of the Kapisanang Kimika ng Pilipinas – Southern Tagalog Chapter (KKP-ST), that biotechnology offers a lot of benefits.

Biotechnology, says Peczon, is not only a tool to develop genetically improved crop varieties but it is also being used to increase yields and augment food production to help end global famine and hunger. Industrial use of biological systems for waste water treatment such as bioremediation are now being used. Likewise, the advances of biotechnology are applied in healthcare industry for the development of vaccines, industrial enzymes and testing kits for cancer treatment. “Biotechnology is the science of the future. It has a huge potential in food and energy area,” said Peczon. Agricultural science and technology, including the indispensable tools of biotechnology, will be critical to meeting the growing demands for food, feed, fiber and fuel. He called on future Filipino chemists to explore other fields related to chemistry such as the diverse scientific discipline of biotechnology. He encouraged entrepreneurship among Filipino chemists in advancing chemical science in the biochemical industry. This year’s KKP-ST convention was sponsored by the Philippine Council for Advanced Science and Technology Research and Development (PCASTRD) and the SEARCA Biotechnology Information Center (SEARCA BIC).

For more news about biotechnology in the Philippines email SEARCA Biotechnology Information Center at bic@agri.searca.org.