University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB) Chancellor Luis Rey Velasco says the country must use biotechnology to develop crops ready to confront climate change as well as make marginal productive.

Velasco added that biotechnology is a boon to an agricultural country like the Philippines and it must utilize its processes to guarantee food security in the long run, reduce dependence on imported inputs and even develop a fungus discovered by agricultural scientists that feeds on plastics.

"It has only been recently that the world has been faced with the realization that plastics can become a real ecological hazard. With their long half-life, waste plastics begin to be a problem. They clog up our drainage systems. They pollute our environment with products almost impervious to nature’s normal courses. They have become a bane to us," he says.

He noted that Filipino scientists have been able to identify a fungus that can degrade plastic back into its natural elements in far less time than we all thought possible.

"Though far from fully developed, the idea is undergoing study – how to propagate the fungus to be economically viable, how to find out what hazards it may, in turn, produce, how to make it acceptable to the public, and eventually how to make the fungus available to the public for use. In short, we now turn to the process of commercialization," he said.

"Biotechnology can assure us of a certain control in quality and costs among natural, living things. This is what biotechnology is really about. It is the new economic revolution at its birth. Born in nature’s hands, but helped by man and his science," he stressed.

For the moment, Velasco declared that the country should concentrate on three areas in biotechnology.

First, it should develop microbial fertilizers. "With petrol-based fertilizers on their way out, both in availability and costs, BioN and MicroVAM should be further developed for widespread farm use to replace expensive, and usually imported, fertilizers. These technologies are already available. But we have to support them with a focus and a commitment," he added.

Second, it should start breeding crops in response to global climate change. "The fact of unpredictable environments is upon us. Some we brought about, some purely natural and irrevocable. There are new plant diseases these changes will bring about, there will be leaching of products we have imposed on our environments. These are truths and these are facts. We have to be ready to contend and address them. The seeds have been discovered. What we need to do is propagate and disperse them. Drought-resistant breeds, saline-resistant breeds, flood-resistant strains, we have them all today. If we do not propagate their use, they will be wasted," he said.

Third and last, the country must breeding crops to make use of marginal lands. "Even without climate change, we have not learned to use our marginal lands. These are the lands that are not of the best quality, but can be made productive just the same. Our many years in research show us that there is a way to make them productive. We must find the crops that will make our farmers live and prosper. And we must find the way to make these crops available to our farmers in their most effective form," he noted.