Beyond Bt Corn: Biotech's growing harvest of innovations

BT CORN may be the most popular biotech product in the country today, but biotechnology has so much more to offer than just this genetically modified crop. Indeed, the list of biotech innovations keeps growing.

In the Philippines, biotechnology now provides better alternatives to some traditional products being used today.

In April 2002, the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, produced Glory, the first test-tube carabao in the country. PCC also produced Irfan, the first test-tube carabao born in the village. The birth of Irfan opened up opportunities for farmers in the village to own buffaloes that are genetically superior in terms of size and weight.

The Dairy Training and Research Institute (DTRI) of the University of the Philippines (UPLB) has also produced “supercows” to upgrade the Philippine dairy industry. Produced through techniques known as superovulation/embryo transfer and cryopreservation through rapid deep-freezing, these cows have the potential to produce increased milk quantities—as much as 63-100% more than those produced by cows reared in the research institute.

However, biotech in the country is not only concerned with the development of superior animals or crops. It also ensures the safety and quality of animal and crop products through diagnostic immunoassay kits. These diagnostic kits provide quality control laboratories as well as research and teaching institutions with an effective tool for detecting plant, food, and feed pathogens and toxins.

A diagnostic kit which is a highly accurate tool specifically used for  detecting bacterial pathogens in meat, milk, poultry, and their products, is now available for commercialization.

For plant testing, diagnostic kits have been developed to detect the following: papaya ringspot virus, tobacco mosaic virus-orchid strain, anthurium blight organism, banana bunchy top virus, banana mosaic virus, mango anthracnose organism, and others.

In plant growth and development, a wide array of growth enhancers is now being sold in the market. Among these products are: Mycogroe for better growth of forest trees; Nitroplus, an effective nitrogen supplement for legumes; Bio-Green for increased yield and vigorous crop growth; Bio-N, an effective nitrogen supplement for rice and corn; and Mykovam for better absorption of nutrients and water.

These biotech products for plant growth and development and the diagnostic kits are just a few of those developed by the National Institute for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH) of UPLB.

Helping make all these happen is the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), a council under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). PCARRD, aside from providing funding support, is also advocating policies that would further promote the development of biotechnology in the country. With the growth of biotechnology, more is in store for both producers as well as consumers  of agricultural products.

So, next time you hear about biotech, think about innovations that could benefit the whole spectrum of plant and animal growth and development, resulting in improved yields and incomes for farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs—and even more nutritious, better-tasting food to put on your table.