A company that produces powdered and liquid extracts from valuable fruit, plant and vegetable resources is offering its partnership to local government units and local entrepreneurs and farmers' cooperatives to venture into the production and supply of the firm's raw materials to meet the growing demand in the world market.

Danilo P. Manayaga, president and chief executive officer of Secura International Corporation, said the company is opening its door to those willing to go into a joint venture and invest P50 million.

Manayaga guarantees a P38 million annual return on investment considering the increasing demand in the world market.

Manayaga made the offer to local chief executives of Bulacan during a two-day seminar entitles "Empowering LGUs and POs (People's Organizations) on Biotechnology" held last week inside the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) in Subic, Zambales.

"We have a ready market. There are many plant varieties in the Philippines, whose enzymes and extracts are in demand in the United States, Europe, Japan, Korean and China," he said.

Manayaga said the Secura International Corp. has also established a subsidiary company called Secura Plant Genetics Corp. He said it was established to diversify into the agri-biotechnology field as a manufacturer of enzymes, essential oils and plant extracts.

The company's pioneering products include "papain" (from papaya) and "bromelain" (from pineapple). The extracts from this fruits, according to Manayaga, are used in the personal care and pharmaceutical industries.

He also added that pineapples can produce enzymes which is now being used to treat cancer.

He also said that extracts from banaba, lagundi, saluyot, aloe vera and mushrooms have a big market in Europe.

However, Manayaga said the plants should be cultures and grown with organic fertilizer, thus strictly, the company must also venture into vermin-culture to produce vermin-compost to be used as fertilizer.

Manayaga said earthworms can provide the needed supply of organic fertilizer through the process called vermin-culture, a technology which he said has already been developed by the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research Development (PCAMRD) of the Department of Science and Technology headed by Dr. Rafael Guerrero III.

The P50-million investment package includes a 1,000 square meter plant with the necessary imported equipment for the plant tissue culture laboratory but the owner must have a 10,000 hectare land for plantation.

Based on a business model proposed by Secura, a new and separate company will be established, 30 percent of which will be owned by Secura, which will provide the technical expertise running a tissue culture plant.

The investor or group of investors, which will coshare the remaining 70 percent of the new company are the local entrepreneur (30 percent), the local government unit where the company is based (5 percent), the employees (15 percent) and cooperative (20 percent).

Manayaga said Secura only offers its partnership to local small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Manayaga, who worked as a biotech researcher for Procter and Gamble and the Germany-based B. Brown Bio Tech, said the technology at Secura can produce 1,000 liters a day of valuable extracts from the said fruits, vegetables and herbs.

Plant, fruit and vegetable extracts, liquid or powdered, are used as main ingredients for medicine and beauty products.

"We have the market and we have the technology. What the company needs are partners to meet the growing demand in the world market," he said.

He said by investing in these technologies, local executives will not only increase agricultural productivity but will create new means of livelihood for farmers since these is now a big market for these plant products.