|
Top UPLB biotechnologist
pushes THE pesky “talahib” is also the country’s guarantee for higher food production. Dr. Reynaldo Ebora, who heads the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of the University of the Philippines in Los Banos (Biotech-UPLB), claims that the “talahib” (Saccharum spontaneum) hosts the bacteria that convert atmospheric nitrogen into a form usable for rice, corn and vegetables and enhance shoot growth and root development. Ebora, an entomologist who trained at the University of Michigan , has been working on commercializing Bio-N as nitrogen supplement and propagating its use by rice, corn and vegetable farmers. He notes that the product has been accepted far and wide. Ebora said Biotech-UPLB has not despaired over its annual budget of only P62 million and has pushed on to work on biofertilizers, particularly now that the Department of Agriculture (DA) has been committed to promoting organic farming. Processing plants for Bio-N have been established in many parts of the country in partnership with local government units (LGUs.) Bio-N actually replaces between 30 percent and 50 percent of the total nitrogen requirements for rice and corn and thus helps increase the farmers’ yield. Biofertilizers are also cost-effective and cites the fact that mycorrhizal inoculants called Mykovam are only applied once as for tree seedlings grown in pots or container or during field application for reforestation species. The seedlings using biofertilizers are more resistant to diseases. Ebora said that biofertilizers actually harmonizes biotechnology with organic agriculture. “The only main difficulty there is the definition of what is organic agriculture,” he noted. “Organic kasi in some definition is without the use of chemical inputs, but for other systems in organic production, they can tolerate certain amounts of chemical pesticide or chemical insecticide inputs,” Ebora added. Ebora believes that biofertilizers can fit into the definition of organic because it uses natural organisms. “Basically we’re using what is naturally occurring in the environment, and there is no genetic modification for biofertilizer products,” he argued. When Biotech-UPLB was established in 1979, one of the priorities identified by the UP Board of Regents (BoR) is the need to develop biofertilizers. Ebora said that the biofertilizers processing plant was one of the first structures that were built in the 77.7-hectare agriculture and life science complex. It was mandated to develop cost-effective technologies for the production of goods and services that are cheaper alternatives to conventional products, making use of locally available materials that are safe to the environment. For one who had always advocated the need to commercialize biotechnology products, Ebora said that people should not really be concerned if they continue their research on genetically modified organisms or GMOS. When he joined the Biotech-UPLB in 1982, he said he was already involved in the development of microbial insects to control pests. He later continued with the research at Michigan , this time on genetic engineering of plants for insect resistance. Basically, they used the Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt, which is now applied to GMO corn. It has proven to be a global success in boosting kernel production since it addresses the problem on corn borers. At Biotech-UPLB, Ebola said that their thrust now is to commercialize mature technologies so that hey can be widely availed and at the same time for the institute to generate resources for their research and development (R&D) work. “Even if you have transferred the technology there is really a need to further improve and refine our products,” he concluded. |
