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LOS
BAÑOS, Laguna—The Philippines will continue to be a
major recipient of agri-biotech funds under the
Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II, a program
funded by the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) to boost agricultural production of
developing countries.
The assurance was made by Frank
Shotkoski, Director of the ABSPII after visiting the
facility for the newly transplanted papaya ringspot
virus-resistant (PRSV-R) papaya seedlings under confined
trial in barangay Paciano Rizal, Bay, Laguna on Sunday.
Dr. Patricio Faylon, executive director
of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and
Natural Resources Research and Development (Pcarrd) and
Dr. Enrico Supangco, Vice Chancellor for Research and
Extension of UP Los Baños together with and partner, Dr.
Clive James, chairman of the International Service for
the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA),
and Shotkotski led the site inspection.
Shotkoski was impressed by the progress
of the PRSV-R papaya project in the Philippines,
promising that funding support will continue to pour
because of a “job well done.”
James also lauded the PRSV-R papaya
project team’s accomplishment, calling it an excellent
job so far.
Shotkoski said ABSPII, a 5-year program
started in 2002, ended last year. The USAID extended
the project this year, with the Philippines being one of
the major beneficiaries.
At least $17.5 million was spent from
2002-2007. This year, Shotkoski said the same amount
will likely be spent to promote dynamic partnership
among funding agencies and research institutions for the
development of agro-biotech crops such as the PRSV-R
papaya. ABSPII is also supporting the research and
development of the Multi Virus-Resistant Tomato (MVR)
tomato in the Philippines; late blight-resistant potato
in India, Bangladesh and Indonesia; and Drought and
Salt-Tolerant Rice, in
Indonesia.
According to Dr. Desiree Hautea,
transplanting the seedlings for confined trial at a
natural environment is considered a milestone as far as
the PRSV-R papaya project is concerned.
She is
excited because finally, they’ll be able to grow the
genetically engineered papaya outside a controlled
environment, where they will be exposed to natural
environment.
“We will be able to finally see if we
have a product,” she said, explaining that the result of
the confined trial will determine whether they have
really accomplished something in the laboratory.
According to Hautea, they also planted
ordinary papaya inside the experimental lot for
comparison.
“If those ordinary papaya were infected
by the virus, and in the process die and the PRSV-R
papaya survive and bear fruits with the desired
characteristics, then we can finally say that we
succeeded,” she said.
After multilocation field trials, the
next step will be commercial release of the first-ever
“Pinoy Biotech” crop.
The confined trial will be conducted in
a fenced and regulated-access experimental lot
previously inspected and approved by the National
Biosafety Committee of the Philippines (NCBP), the
Bureau of Plant Industry-Plant Quarantine Services (BPI-PQS)
and the PLB Institutional Biosafety Committee. J. Mayuga
The ABSPII’s PRSV-R Project team led by
Hautea started transplanting the genetically-engineered
papaya seedlings last February 8, covering 3,500 sq. m.
of the 1.2-hectare experimental site, after getting the
nod of the National Biosafety Committee of the
Philippines (NCBP) last October 13, 2007.
Hautea said the confined field trial
will be done under natural conditions to determine and
further evaluate the horticultural characteristics of
the papaya. Four papaya events were transplanted, from
which the team will select the best product with the
desired trait in terms of—besides being resistant to the
deadly virus—yield, taste, shelf color size of fruit and
smell.
The best product, or the best candidate
with the most desirable trait will be used for the
multilocation field trial. The team is eyeing to
conduct the open field trial in Luzon, particularly in
the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Bicol, and in Bulacan
or Pampanga, according to Dr. Pablito Magdalita, a
scientist working on the PRSV-R papaya project.
A previous confined trial for the same
PRSV-R papaya project was done on February 23, 2007,
wherein the resistance to PRSV was evaluated.
According to Hautea, it will take the newly transplanted
papaya transformation events, named Event 142, Event
124, and two lines of Event 132 eight months, or until
October to start bearing fruit. The products will be
ready for harvest in February next year. --J.
Mayuga |
