Biotechnology can serve as the country's lifebuoy from the current global economic turmoil as many farms have adopted biotechnology while some technologies are just waiting for commercialization, agriculture experts said.
"Biotechnology is the key to national progress," Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap said during the 4th National Biotechnology Week held at the UP Institute of Small-Scale Industries in Diliman, Quezon City.
Any technique that uses living things to make or modify a product, to improve plants and animals, or to develop microorganisms for specific uses falls under the general category of "biotechnology".
Biotechnology holds a great deal of promise in the fields of food production, agriculture, medicine and environmental management.
National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) Secretary Domingo F. Panganiban concurred, saying that biotechnology can help address hunger and malnutrition.
"It can usher
the Philippines to a new economic phase through safe, simple and cost-effective agricultural biotechnology," Panganiban said.
As NAPC chief, he is mandated to implement anti-hunger and anti-poverty campaigns and is coordinating all efforts by various departments and agencies to battle misery and pain in both rural and urban areas.
Meanwhile, Yap revealed that up to P1.3 billion would be used by the government for hard projects in agriculture -- meaning irrigation projects, farm-to-market roads and the likes -- to improve rice production and the cultivation of other crops. - PNA
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