Newly elected officers of the Biotechnology Information and Organization Network (BIONet) yesterday pledged to act swiftly in mitigating hunger, generating jobs, empowering people and reducing malnutrition all over the country by boosting socio-economic growth.

The new set of BIOnet officers were elected during the group’s first national congress last Monday.

In a statement released yesterday, the participants said the partnerships forged by government and the private sector, agricultural producers and grassroots organizations would go a long way in promoting the use and consumption of agricultural biotechnology products to raise rural incomes and develop new markets for locally-produced high-value added crops and natural ingredients.

It said that BIONet strives to "maximize the technology to achieve agricultural modernization, economic development, poverty alleviation, food security and job generation."

The statement said hunger mitigation cannot be achieved without radical action since increasing population growth and massive land conversion and diminishing land for food production conspire against maximizing agricultural production. This, it added, could be change if high-yielding, safe, environmentally beneficial and more nutritious biotechnology products are developed and propagated.

"Each day, 30,000 children die due to poverty. Provision of more job opportunities in the countryside through industries anchored on biotechnology is desperately needed. We view BioCommerce as the answer to poverty at the local level," the statement explained.

"Globally, over 9 million people die each day due to hunger and malnutrition, of which 5 million are children. We believe that the government should hasten the production of nutrientrich food and make nutrition more accessible to the marginalized sector through biotechnology," the participants said.

Moreover, the 2003 Report of the International Scientific Council for Island Development entitled "Biotech and the Developing World," said biotechnology is accorded "high policy" status in national development, and plays a vital role in the eradication of poverty, empowerment of women, and human and social welfare development.

The United Nations Human Development Report "Making New Technologies Work for Development" identified biotechnology as one of the best opportunities and options to achieve socio-economic growth in developing countries, the statement stressed.

It gave emphasis on natural ingredients as a key activity to support the needs of both the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries, following the lead of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Southern Africa, and Vietnam.

In pushing for more extensive application of biotechnology products, BIONet said it would ensure the protection of intellectual property rights of products from the Philippines, encourage organically-grown products and guarantee the protection of the rights of our indigenous peoples (IPs).

BIONet said it would also encourage BIOCommerce as a strategy for competitiveness, people empowerment and participation, respect for life and human dignity, unity and cooperation, and concern and care for the environment through biotechnology.

The participants in the congress were from: Laguna; Quezon; Negros Oriental; Tarlac; Ilocos Region; Mindoro Occidental; Lanao Del Norte, Lanao Del Sur; Central Luzon; Cordillera Administrative Region; Nueva Vizcaya; Bulacan and; the Caraga Region.