Increasing farmers' incomes -- the biotech way

A YEAR ago, I directed the Department of Agriculture – Biotech Program Implementation Unit to commission a team of experts to formulate a biotechnology roadmap for Philippine agriculture.

The study, I said, should involve a review of world biotechnology developments and the in-country activities, and our capacity to cope with the times as we don’t want to be left behind.

The 21st century is referred to as the biotech century.

It is in this century, that we witnessed the extensive use of biological systems in providing mankind’s needs:  food, fiber, energy, and health & well-being, in both old and new and exciting ways.

Indeed, agriculture has expanded its role.

Today, its focus is no longer confined to food and fiber production. Now, it is also into the production of medicine and energy sources at certain level and extent.

In this biotechnology revolution, there are two trends in technology development:  modern biotechnology and traditional biotechnology.

Modern biotechnology involves the manipulation of DNA or genetic material and cells to provide technologies and come up with amazing products. Products like the Bt corn, or what is known as GMO or genetically modified organisms.

On the other hand, traditional biotechnology, as the word suggests, makes use of traditional technology, basically by selecting from nature to produce natural ingredients for food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics, as well as organic food products.

These technologies have resulted in new industries.

The modern biotechnology industry, which started in the commercial production of human insulin in bacterial cells in 1982, is now worth US$60 billion.

This industry continues to grow an annual rate of 10 percent.

Natural ingredients and organic products industry are bigger.  Medicine and cosmetics alone is already worth US$66 billion, growing at 10 percent a year. The organic-products industry continues to grow at 3 percent a year.

Moreover, the demand for natural food ingredients, food supplements and organic food products are growing at 20 percent annually.

Because of the use of different tools, the investment needs for these two technology trends are different.

Modern biotechnology needs substantial investments. We need a cadre of well-trained technical personnel and sophisticated laboratories.  Moreover, we need a new and stringent regulatory regime.

Investments in biotechnology to produce natural ingredients range from minimal to substantial and relatively less sophisticated laboratories.  What is needed in the production of natural ingredients is a new outlook and a new approach to traditional practices.

Philippine resources available in technology development have always been mostly from the public sector and this resource is insufficient, inconsistent and difficult to manage. This limits our capacity to develop technologies using modern biotechnology. On the other hand, we have sufficient manpower, existing technologies and a rich biodiversity to develop a natural-ingredients industry.

For Philippine agriculture, the direction is not to pick one technology trend and reject another. We will use modern biotechnology judiciously and develop a natural-ingredients industry.

This strategy in biotechnology is envisioned to achieve the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA) goals of increasing farmers’ incomes, improving competitiveness and achieving a sustainable and increased productivity. In this context, “sustainable and increased productivity” means maintaining environmental integrity and social acceptability.

Our ability to improve farmers’ income has been limited by the competing interest of consumers for affordable food.

In this competition, sadly, the consumers’ interest always wins.

In times of scarcity, agricultural imports are resorted to maintain a low price ceiling, and in times of plenty, the farmer has to contend with the decreasing prices.

One strategy to maintain farm prices at profitable levels is for processors to extract more products, especially higher-value products from a particular crop, so that the price of the traditional product can be kept affordable for consumers.

Take the case of palay.  In addition to the starch grain for food, products of higher value are obtained, such as rice bran, oil, B vitamins, silica gel and energy.

One strategy for agricultural development is to adopt integrated multiproduct processing of traditional agricultural crops to give fair value to farmers’ products.

Another strategy in increasing farmers’ income “the biotech way” is to promote the production of crops for natural ingredients.

Certain crops are of higher value than traditional agricultural crops.

Banaba leaves, for instance, are currently selling at P20-25/kg whereas the price for palay is P10/kg, and corn, P12/kg.

Many of these new plants thrive in lands not suitable for traditional crop farming, and hence, would give more money per unit area than straggling traditional crops.

Biotech products like organic fertilizers, biofertilizers and biopesticides are now commercially available to support medicinal crop production as required by the international market.

Moreover, bioprocesses are also available to efficiently process natural ingredients.

The third strategy for increasing farmers’ income is by improving productivity using modern biotechnology. This strategy is exemplified by the Bt corn technology where farmers obtained higher yields and saved money on insecticides.

Some of our current projects include the development of a virus-resistant abaca, insect-resistant cotton, delayed-ripening papaya, insect-resistant eggplant and virus-resistant papaya.

Along these lines, the Department of Agriculture Biotechnology Program is establishing the necessary projects and programs to achieve sustainable economic development through agricultural intervention – the biotech way.