AN “informed opinion” among biotechnology stakeholders is the key element in an effective advocacy and promotion of the potentials of animal biotechnology.

This was the message imparted by the experts from the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) of the Department of Agriculture and the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) of the Department of Science and Technology and other partner institutions in relaying to the public the importance of the technology in answering the demand for food production.

Experts from the forum said animal biotechnology does not necessarily mean genetically modified organisms (GMO), to which people always feel skeptical and carry negative connotations when they hear the term.

However, biotechnology is one potential technology that can address the needs of the country’s agricultural-production systems, they said.

According to the forum’s rationale, there have been significant milestones and breakthroughs achieved through biotechnology, but these are always overshadowed by the people’s misconceptions on its alleged possible negative effects to health and environment.

It said that some “less-informed” groups use the issues in the core of their advocacies to influence public opinion against biotechnology and its products.

“Elitist scientists apply terms in biotechnology such as frontier, cutting-edge, strategic and lately blue-sky science, but unless these are translated to layman’s language, biotechnology will remain to be abstract to Pambansang Kamao Manny Pacquaio or a dreaded field to pursue for young students, or maybe as dreadful as visiting Maguindanao,” said Dr. Edwin Villar, head of the livestock-research division of PCARRD.

There are a number of issues why there is a need for the country to invest in livestock technology, Dr. Libertado Cruz, PCC executive director, said. One is the growing population of the world, he said.

Sixty percent of the world’s population belongs to Asia, Cruz said. Because of the continuous increase in population, the world must produce food in the next 40 to 80 years equivalent to what has been produced in the past 12,000 years, he explained. Moreover, it becomes a global challenge on how to feed these people, and the world’s capacity to produce food is at stake, he pointed out.

What comes with the growth in population is an increase in people’s income and purchasing power, Cruz said. People who have the capacity to buy change their food preference. They consume less of the grains and more of the animal-derived protein, he added.

Cruz argued that traditional genetic improvement and management of livestock productivity is substantially significant, but with the challenge of growing population and increase in the demand of animal products, there is a need to use other technology than the traditional method, he said.

Biotechnology in livestock has contributed in terms of improving feed-grain production and forage quality, enhancing genetic improvement of economically important traits, enhancing animals and their performance and preserving biodiversity, Cruz explained.

Livestock biotechniques are directed primarily on genetic improvement and genetic conservation, he said.

Other parts of livestock biotechniques are those applied to animal and animal nutrition and to produce novel products for human use.

In his presentation, Cruz pointed out that biotechnology is almost equated with GMO implants, and people do not want to take anything related to biotechnology, particularly in food. Rejection is less when it is for human pharmaceuticals.

“The mindset of the consuming public when it relates to food has less acceptability, but when it is for human pharmaceuticals, it is okay,” he said.

He said it is impossible for the country to do away with artificial insemination (AI). AI is one of the most common and oldest biotechnologies used in the world that maximizes the utility of superior sire, he added.

On the status of some of the animal biotechnologies in the Philippines, Cruz said the country is commercially using AI in bovine, cattle, carabao, small ruminants and swine. Substantial research and development have been completed to understand AI as a technique.

Sperm sexing—a biotechnique that can help producers of dairy, swine and beef animals to predetermine the sex of the offspring—has not been tried yet in the Philippines due to lack of funds, Cruz added. The country, according to him, is just waiting for the money to be able to try out the technique.

Superovulation technique in cattle and goat, a biotechnique that expands the utilization of superior females in dairy, beef, goat and sheep, is now well-established in the country, he added. However, there is poor response to superovulatory hormone in buffalo.

Cruz recommended the tapping of PCARRD to increase human-resource capacitation and improve the existing facilities and laboratory equipment. Moreover, he said it is not the technology that is important, but how the technologies affect lives and influence the country’s communities, especially the small local farmers.

Cruz pointed out that biotechnology would allow precision in resource use and product design. He said to effectively use the tools, it will require listening to what the producers, processors and consumers want, guided by principles of safety, risk assessment and animal welfare.