Fortunato T. Dela Peña
https://doi.org/10.57043/transnastphl.2006.4597
Abstract
The Philippine National Science and Technology Plan (2002–2020) states that the development priorities in biotechnology are its applications in agriculture, forestry and natural resources, health/medical sciences, environment, energy, and manufacturing and process engineering. Applications have been identified in these sectors as follows: for agriculture and fisheries – varietal improvement and sustainable production for food security; for forestry – maintenance and maximization of forestry resources; for health and medical sciences – prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases; for marine sciences – development of marine bioindustries; for energy – development of renewable energy resources; for manufacturing and process engineering – the development of novel processes of manufacture using life forms as miniature factories to produce the desired products; and for the environment – bioremediation. The plan also indicates that the priority research and development areas for biotechnology processes and technologies include plant tissue culture; immuno-based diagnostics, protein and DNA markers; microbial transformations; plant transformations; genome mapping; cloning single genes; and mammalian tissue culture. The sectoral R&D councils have formulated their medium-term plans consistent with the NSTP priorities. In agriculture, R&D in biotechnology is geared toward generating breakthroughs such as fertilizer substitutes, genetically engineered plants and animals, biological control of pests and diseases, and plant and animal diagnostics. In industry, R&D will focus on the production of specialty chemicals, including food additives and intermediate chemicals used in food and chemical processing, particularly enzymes, organic acids, polymers for films, coatings, and flavoring agents. In health, diagnostics that aid in the treatment of diseases, as well as the development of vaccines, especially for emerging and other infectious diseases, have been identified. Consistent with the above priorities and pursuing the strategy of niching and clustering, the Department of Agriculture, Department of Trade and Industry, and the Department of Science and Technology pushed for the creation of a Biotechnology Cluster under the Export Development Council. This is seen as a boost to the development and growth of the biotechnology industry in the country. The two subsectors identified, with their corresponding lines of products and services considered to offer good opportunities, are the agricultural and health bioindustry subsectors.