THE Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) is capacitating public servants of Oriental Mindoro on agribiotechnology.
Searca Center Director Glenn Gregorio said that through the center’s project titled “Pilot Testing of Training Module on Biotechnology for Public Servants,” provincial governments are strengthened and their knowledge enhanced to promote the use and acceptance of modern biotechnology more effectively.
Gregorio said that the training of public servants in Oriental Mindoro under the project in September and October this year was held in Muntinlupa and was attended by 18 officials and staff of the provincial and municipal agriculture offices.
He said the activity was conducted as part of the Bridging and Upgrading the Mechanisms and Pathways for the Uptake of Biotech Project, an information education communication project funded by the Bureau of Agricultural Research through the Department of Agriculture-Biotechnology Program Office (DA-BPO).
It was co-organized with the University of the Philippines Los Baños-College of Development Communication (UPLB-CDC) Department of Science Communication (DSC) and the Program for Biosafety Systems (PBS).
Gregorio explained that the training module is an instructional tool and resource designed to “equip public servants with the necessary skills and knowledge on biotech through self-paced or instructor-guided learning sessions and in a hybrid or blended learning setup.”
He said that baseline data collected through surveys and interviews with key local government representatives in the province earlier this year was a basis for designing the training module.
The module centers on four learning areas that are the basics of biotech; risk assessment and precautionary principle; benefits and risks of biotech in human health and the environment; and the status of biotech in the Philippines.
Gregorio said subject matter specialists developed the module lessons. They were Elaine Llarena and Reianne Quilloy, assistant professors and project collaborators from DSC at UPLB-CDC.
During the activity, Paul Limson, DA-PBO director, underscored the “value of clear and effective communication, since public perception and the acceptance of biotech is significantly shaped by the information accessible to people.”
“Equipping public servants with the tools and knowledge they need becomes even more crucial as they play a key role in demonstrating the impact and benefits of the technology to their communities,” Limson said.
DA-BPO senior management specialist Marcellas Antonia Barrogo gave a comprehensive overview of the Philippine government’s biotech program, while Quilloy presented the baseline study results.
Maribel Zaporteza, assistant professor of the Institute of Biological Sciences, UPLB College of Arts and Sciences, presented the basics of biotech and defined biotech, differentiating traditional and modern biotechnology products used in everyday life, the concept of genes, DNA, heredity, and the importance and basics of the “central dogma of molecular biotechnology.”
Carlo Custodio Jr., Philippine country coordinator of the Program for PBS, discussed the “risk assessment and precautionary principle.” He focused on identifying risks present in a situation, applications of the precautionary principle and how this principle is interpreted in the Writ of Kalikasan of the Philippines.
Gregorio said the participants also had the opportunity to engage with scientists, technology developers and farmers during the Lakbay Aral, allowing them to gain a deeper understanding of the process behind the development of biotech crops.
Their first stop was the Philippine Rice Research Institute Central Experiment Station in Nueva Ecija, where they learned about the Healthier Rice Project, including the beta carotene-enriched Malusog Rice (Golden Rice), the development of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, and policy brokering.
The group also visited the Future Rice Farm and the laboratories at the Crop Biotechnology Center and toured the Corteva Agriscience Production Plant in Tarlac City, where Bt corn is processed into animal feed. Corteva also produces hybrid corn and rice seeds, and other crop protection products.
The provincial agriculturist of Oriental Mindoro, Christine Pine, encouraged the participants to continue “engaging in discussions on how they can support their constituents, especially farmers, in gaining a better appreciation and understanding of biotechnology.”
She also underscored the importance of providing opportunities for them to participate in biotech initiatives, such as training programs and benchmarking activities.
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