Venture capitalists can finance start-up enterprises on herb manufactures, but a cohesively-planned roadmap should be carried out to prop emergence of an herb sector where the Philippines can make a mark in.

Pioneering biotechnology advisor Hybridigm Consulting Inc. (HCI) is pressing for a public-private sector harmonization of programs that should lead to a flourishing natural ingredients sector in the country.

One priority for such programs is herb mapping which the Department of Agriculture (DA) should conduct. Another program is a technical assistance to farmers on best practices for growing these indigenous species.

"DA should take the lead in an herb mapping. This will enable us to see how many hectares can be planted suitably (for certain crops), where to best grow them," said Ma. Antonia Odelia G. Arroyo, HCI president and chief executive officer, in an interview at the opening of DAís Biotechnology Business Incubator Facility.

HCI is linking farmersí groups with markets and financiers which, according to Arroyo, are not really in dearth.

For instance, Development Bank of the Philippines provides a 70 percent loan counterpart for investments of small and medium enterprise (SME) while another state-run firm Small Business Guarantee Fund Corp. also funds SME businesses. Venture capitalists like ICCP Ventures has a facility for new businesses that have high potential growth.

Arroyo noted vast potentials for indigenous plants given that these are tapped appropriately for the export market. Aloe Vera has a $ 70 to $ 90 million yearly market as a raw material.

A $ 5 billion market is projected by 2011 from only $ 3.9 billion in 2006 for essential oils which come from plants abundant in the Philippines like davana, lemongrass, jasmine, and elemi (pili nut) which has a very promising type of oil.

The European Union market for cosmetics amounts to E3.4 billion. A huge amount of money is being spent for treating chronic prevalent diseases including cardio vascular disease, $ 5.5 billion; diabetes, $ 11.6 billion; and bone health, $ 3.9 billion.

Agricultural cooperatives can look at many market segments for marketing their crops.

Among the raw materials for natural ingredients are banaba, ampalaya, bromelain (pineapple),papain (papaya), curamin (luyang dilaw), duhat, granada, moringa leaves, sambong, and virgin coconut oil.

Natural ingredient companies utilizing these raw material plants are Secura International and PCART which will begin exporting curamin in January; nutraceutical companies like Pascual Laboratories, Splash, and Carica; and cosmetics companies like Biomart Asia and Daila.

ON a global scale, businesses engaged natural ingredients are BASF of Germany and other Danish and Dutch firms.

But in order to tap these native plantsí utmost potential, a new paradigm has to be realized in the local scene.

"Over the last 30 years, our policy has been to import wealth and guarantee poverty. But we have to remove our ëpwede naí (mediocre) attitude and look towards long-term growth in biotechnology," she said.
The Philippines, Arroyo stressed, has been endowed with rich biodiversity no country can possibly match. But harnessing these resources takes multi-sectoral effort.

"For the first time, we have an opportunity to catch-up. (But) the future is not something that will happen to us. It is something we will create together," she said.

Numerous studies on nutrigenetics, nutrigenomics, and other new science fields are being conducted in the US and Europe. This signals a ripe time to invest in science and technology and research and development (R&D). But stress must be give on the "development" side in order to bring back national pride.

"Iím not only appealing to your wallet, Iím appealing to your (sense) of pride," she said. "Our greatest challenge is the proactive creation of an external crisis. The greatest evil is of short-term thinking, of gradualism, of ëpwede na.