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<br><a class="country"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#336600" size="2"><strong>PHILIPPINES</strong></font></a><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"> <br>1-</font><a href="http://www.bic.searca.org/press_releases/2009/jul03.html" target="_blank"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#000000" size="2">FILIPINO NATIONAL SCIENTIST EXPRESSES SUPPORT TO BIOTECHNOLOGY IN TRANSFORMING FILIPINO LIVES</font></a><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"> <br>
2-</font><a href="http://www.bic.searca.org/news/2009/jul/phi/06.html" target="_blank"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#000000" size="2">LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY EXPANSION 'ON-HOLD’ IN NEGROS</font></a><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"> <br>
3-</font><a href="http://www.bic.searca.org/news/2009/jul/phi/04.html" target="_blank"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#000000" size="2">GOV. SEEKS REVIEW OF GMO BAN</font></a><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"> <br>
4-</font><a href="http://www.bic.searca.org/news/2009/jun/phi/30.html"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#000000" size="2">BRAZIL, RP INK BIOTECH PACTS</font></a><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"> <br>
5-</font><a href="http://www.bic.searca.org/news/2009/jun/phi/26.html" target="_blank"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#000000" size="2">3 NEW RICE VARIETIES UP FOR COMMERCIAL CULTIVATION</font></a><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"> <br>
<br></font><a class="country"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#336600" size="2"><strong>CHINA</strong></font></a><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"> <br>6-</font><a href="http://www.bic.searca.org/news/2009/jul/chi/05.html" target="_blank"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#000000" size="2">GREEN' REVOLUTION UNDER WAY IN RURAL CHINA</font></a><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"> <br>
<br></font><a class="country"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#336600" size="2"><strong>JAPAN</strong></font></a><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"> <br>7-</font><a href="http://www.bic.searca.org/news/2009/jul/jap/01.html" target="_blank"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#000000" size="2">JAPANESE SCIENTISTS DESIGN NEW TRANSGENIC RICE TO FIGHT ALLERGY</font></a><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"> <br>
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<div align="left"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font size="2"><strong>1-FILIPINO NATIONAL SCIENTIST EXPRESSES SUPPORT TO BIOTECHNOLOGY IN TRANSFORMING FILIPINO LIVES </strong><br>26-June-2009 </font></font><a href="http://www.bic.searca.org/" target="_blank"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#0000ff" size="2">SEARCA BIC News Release</font></a><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"> <br>
<br>Dr. Dolores Ramirez, a Filipino national scientist famous for her research works in biochemical genetics and cytogenetics of plants, urges for biotechnology research and education support in priming transformation of Filipino lives. In her keynote speech during the 10th Year Anniversary of the University of the Philippines Graduate Program on Molecular Biology and Biotechnology and 4th Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Symposium held recently, Dr. Ramirez said, “MBB covers wide spectrum of life and sciences and its application to agriculture, health, industry and to the environment can offer solutions that can contribute to improving Filipino lives”. She urges for awareness and appreciation of MBB as early as possible so that misconceptions are diminished through time. She added that biotech research and its products can also trigger transformation in Filipino lives, one example of which is the Bt corn being adopted in the country for more than 7 years now.<br>
<br>Local biological researches are also being conducted in both public and private R&D institutions that are expected to commercialize agricultural biotech products in the country in the next few years. “Bacterial blight resistant rice and Golden rice are being developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice). Likewise, the University of the Philippines Los Baños is working on the development of banana and abaca resistant to bunchy top virus as well as papaya with delayed ripening trait,” said Dr. Ramirez.<br>
<br>However, Dr. Ramirez called for stronger government funding support to biotech R&D in the country. “Support to science in the country is negligible. Last year, government expenditure to biotech R&D was only 0.12% of the country’s gross domestic products (GDP)” she said. Furthermore, she stressed that improvement of biotech research facilities in public and academic institutions must also be given high priority by the government. She challenged those doing research work on MBB to do more collaboration with the research institutions from other countries such as shuttle research and student exchange program. <br>
<br>The MBB symposium and anniversary was organized by the UPLB MBB Graduate Program in cooperation with the SEARCA Biotechnology Information Center and the Institute of Chemistry, UPLB. </font><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font size="2"><em><strong>(Rochella B. Lapitan)<br>
</strong></em><br><strong>------------------------------------------------------------</strong><br><strong>2-LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY EXPANSION ‘ON-HOLD’ IN NEGROS</strong><br>by Ma. Ester L. Espina, Correspondent <br>06-July-2009 </font></font><a href="http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/july/06/yehey/prov/20090706pro1.html" target="_blank"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#0000ff" size="2">Manila Times</font></a><br>
<br><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font size="2"><em><strong>Businessmen urge council to hasten review of Ordinance 007 that prohibits genetically modified organisms</strong></em> <br><br>BACOLOD CITY: Plans of expansion in both the swine and poultry industry in Negros Occidental has been deferred pending a thorough review of the anti-genetically modified organism (GMO) law that the province of Negros Occidental has recently implemented. <br>
<br>In a press conference over the weekend, livestock industry leaders urged the provincial council to hasten their review of Ordinance 007 that prohibits the entry of both living and non-living genetically modified organisms in the province, with the hope that it will be to their advantage. <br>
<br>Albert Lim, president of the National Hog Raisers Association as well as the head of the Negros Hog Raisers Association criticized the provincial government’s recent implementation of the law as “contrary to the national government’s policy on using biotechnology to improve productivity and make our industry competitive in both the local and global market.” <br>
<br>The livestock industry has earlier complained that the law will cause their industry to “collapse” after the provincial government stopped and turned away the entry of an estimated P1 million worth of genetically modified corn used for feeds. <br>
<br>Lim said what is more worrisome is the “negative signal” the law is sending to investors. He said there have been plans for two feed producers to expand in Negros and produce feeds for the growing industry “which could have spelt livelihood for our people but is now on-hold because of the ban.” <br>
<br>The ban also required industry players now to buy mixed feeds in neighboring provinces, which is P2 higher per kilo than before. With the industry’s need at 900,000 kilos per day, Lim said this amounts to P1.8 million additional costs for hog and poultry raisers. With the ban in effect, some breeders have reportedly shifted to wheat which is ironically also GMO but which does not provide “enough protein” than GMO corn. <br>
<br>Former Rep. Manuel Puey of Negros who is the president of the Negros Occidental Poultry Raisers Association said the longer the provincial government does not make a decision on the matter, “there is a probability that investors will simply relocate to other provinces.” <br>
<br>Puey said the province’s poultry industry has grown so big that it produces about a million broilers a month. Like the hog industry, Negros has become an exporter for livestock with Cebu province getting a good share of its Negros pork. <br>
<br>Puey who is also an egg producer said that if they will be forced to close shop, “we will have no choice but to get eggs from neighboring Bantayan Island,” which also uses GMO feeds for their chicken. “Because of this law, we will still be buying GMO-fed products from other sources.” <br>
<br>Rey de la Rama, president of the Alliance of Hog Raisers in Negros Occidental representing commercial producers also said they are under “so much pressure because this is our livelihood. How much more for the backyard raisers,” he asked. <br>
<br>Ironically, a provincial government program for livestock propagation also includes giving out GMO feeds for their beneficiaries and has pushed for the expansion of the industry to get away from the image of Negros Occidental as a monocrop industry. <br>
<br>Meanwhile, the sugar industry has added its voice to those opposing the law after the Philippine Sugar Research Institute came out with a statement urging the review of the law in the light that their research to improve sugar cane varieties also involves experimenting with both living and non-living genetically modified organisms.<br>
<br><strong>------------------------------------------------------------</strong><br><strong>3-GOV. SEEKS REVIEW OF GMO BAN</strong><br>by Ma. Ester A. Espina (Correspondent) <br>04-July-2009 </font></font><a href="http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/july/04/yehey/prov/20090704pro1.html" target="_blank"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#0000ff" size="2">Manila Times</font></a><br>
<br><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font size="2"><strong><em>Controversial ordinance was crafted to turn Negros into ‘organic</em></strong> <br><br>BACOLOD CITY: After months of debate and growing opposition to the anti-GMO (genetically modified organisms) ordinance recently implemented in the Province of Negros Occidental, Gov. Isidro Zayco finally asked the provincial board council to subject the said law under a “thorough review.” <br>
<br>The ordinance that was passed in 2007 but was only recently implemented with the arrest and order to turn around for an estimated P1- million shipment of genetically modified corn, generated reaction from the livestock industry who were taken by surprise with the sudden implementation of the law, “we were never made aware that such a law even existed.” <br>
<br>The law was crafted in the province’s thrust to make Negros Island into an “organic bowl,” and disallows entry of both living and non-living GMO products. <br><br>Albert Lim, president of the Negros Hog Raisers Association, said they are appealing to the provincial government to issue a “moratorium” for at least two years to enable industry stakeholders to prepare for the eventual phase out of GMO corn. <br>
<br>At the rate this is going, “the implementation of the law will lead to the collapse of the livestock and poultry industry,” said Lim who added that they are currently more than 80 percent dependent on GMO feeds for their animals. <br>
<br>In a turnaround, Zayco said there is a need for a thorough review of the ordinance after the sugar industry joined in the call for a moratorium or amendment to the ordinance. This, after the Philippine Sugar Research Institute sent a letter that they are using both living and non-living genetically modified organisms in their research to improve sugarcane variety and productivity. <br>
<br>Earlier, some sectors opposed to the ordinance also dared the provincial government “not to be selective” and fully implement the law which should include banning “more than half of the contents of a grocery store,” and not just GMO corn. <br>
<br>Speculations of bribe money as well as pay-off allegedly involving provincial employees have been circulating which irked the governor who dared those spreading it to show proof. <br><br>Meanwhile, Zayco also admitted that the council should also look closely into the capability of the province to implement the law after a proposal sent to a New Zealand firm revealed that setting up a GMO detecting laboratory would cost more than P210 million, not to mention hiring of additional personnel who will enforce the law. <br>
<br>Lim on the other hand said they are not against the ordinance and would even support the province in its thrust to increase organic produce in Negros “but it should not also prohibit the entry of GMO corn which is what we used as feeds.” <br>
<br>Rodney Taala, president of the Association of Backyard Hog Raisers said they are now feeling the pinch with feeds coming from neighboring Iloilo province costing P2 higher than before. “It’s a difference of not less P1.8 million per day considering we are consuming more than 900 tons daily.”<br>
<br><strong>------------------------------------------------------------</strong><br><strong>4-BRAZIL, RP INK BIOTECH PACTS</strong> <br>by Riza T. Olchondra<br>30-June-2009 </font></font><a href="http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20090630-213055/Brazil-RP-ink-biotech-pacts" target="_blank"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#0000ff" size="2">Philippine Daily Inquirer</font></a><br>
<br><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">MANILA, Philippines—The agriculture department’s agribusiness marketing and investment promotion arm has forged biotechnology agreements with Brazilian agencies.<br><br>
According to the Philippine Agricultural Development and Commercial Corp. (PADCC), the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corp. (Embrapa) has agreed to share propagation materials for high-value crops, livestock, biofuels and fisheries, as well as technology on crop assessment and production estimate systems.<br>
<br>“We have agreed to cooperate in the field of science and technology toward our common goal of promoting sustainable agricultural development and institutional strengthening in our respective countries,” PADCC yesterday said in a joint statement with Embrapa.<br>
<br>PADCC said its president, Marriz Agbon, signed a memorandum of understanding with Embrapa president Silvio Crestana.<br><br>Brazilian cattle breeders also promised to donate semen of the Girolando breed of dairy cattle to the Philippines, PADCC said.<br>
<br>Secretary Arthur Yap said the donation provides an opportunity for the improvement of the Philippine’s dairy cattle industry.<br><br>The Philippines recognizes Brazil’s leading role as one of the major producers of cattle and other livestock worldwide. he added.<br>
<br>The Philippines largely sources its dairy cattle breed through importation of a crossbreed of the Indian Sahiwal and the New Zealand Holstein—“an expensive and unsustainable practice,” Yap said.<br><br><strong>------------------------------------------------------------</strong><br>
<strong>5-3 NEW RICE VARIETIES UP FOR COMMERCIAL CULTIVATION</strong><br>26-June-2009 </font><a href="http://www.malaya.com.ph/jul07/agri1.htm" target="_blank"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#0000ff" size="2">Malaya</font></a><br>
<br><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">Three new rice varieties designed to help farmers grow more rice in difficult conditions have been officially recommended for approval for commercial cultivation in the country and are expected to help the Philippines become less dependent on rice imports. <br>
<br>Bred by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), one variety is flood-tolerant, one is drought-tolerant, and one is salt-tolerant. <br><br>"In the Philippines about 400,000 hectares of rice-growing land is affected by salinity, and in any year up to 370,000 hectares can be flood-affected," said Dr. David Mackill, program leader and plant breeder at IRRI. "Both these conditions can completely destroy a rice crop or decrease yield.<br>
<br>"Yield is also reduced by drought that occurs in upland and rain-fed areas where rice is not irrigated. Having rice varieties that can cope with difficult growing conditions such as flood, drought, and salinity will be particularly helpful for poor farmers who rely on marginal land to grow their rice. <br>
<br>"Rice-growing land that has limited productivity will become more productive when these new rice varieties are used – this will help Filipino farmers produce more rice," he added. <br><br>According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, every year Filipinos eat an average of more than 100 kilograms of rice per person. With population increasing, demand for rice continues to grow in the Philippines, which is already the world’s biggest rice importer. <br>
<br>"The development of these rice varieties demonstrates how IRRI and its partners can increase the yield of rice through research," said Dr. Mackill. <br><br>"Ongoing investment in rice research, breeding, and extension will help to increase rice yields and improve the sustainability of rice production to help avoid future rice price increases." <br>
<br>The new rice varieties have been tested in field conditions and evaluated by the Rice Varietal Improvement Group through the National Cooperative Testing program of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice). <br>
<br>"The Rice Technical Working Group of the National Seed Industry Council will now recommend the varieties for official approval, which is expected to occur sometime in late 2009," said Thelma Padolina, NCT national coordinator at PhilRice.<br>
<br>As a nonprofit organization, IRRI provides the seed for these new varieties at no cost to PhilRice. <br><br>PhilRice has already started distributing small amounts of seed to farmers for further adaptation tests. Seed increase of breeder and foundation seeds is now being done by IRRI and PhilRice. When officially approved, basic seed will be available to seed growers and selected farmers that can cater to other farmers. It is also expected that seed exchange among farmers in the target areas will be active with the new technologies. <br>
<br>IRRI and PhilRice continue to work together and more new rice varieties especially designed for the Philippines are expected to be released soon.<br><br><strong>------------------------------------------------------------</strong><br>
</font><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font size="2"><strong>CHINA<br>6-GREEN' REVOLUTION UNDER WAY IN RURAL CHINA<br></strong>By Elizabeth Yuan<br>05-July-2009 </font></font><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/07/03/china.alternative.energy/index.html?eref=rss_latest" target="_blank"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#0000ff" size="2">CNN</font></a><br>
<br><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">LIJIANG, China (CNN) -- In the northwest of China's mountainous Yunnan province, among the world's most biodiverse areas, a green revolution is under way among rural residents.<br>
<br>In Meiquan Village near Lashi Lake, Zhang Chengui says he has been able to maximize profits by spending more time growing crops since installing a biogas digester-greenhouse, solar water heater, energy-efficient stove and rain-collecting cistern. He installed them with loans from the bank and grants from The Nature Conservancy, becoming in 2003 the first in his village to adopt alternative energy. <br>
<br>Since then, his income has tripled to 40,000-50,000 yuan ($5,800-$7,300), he said.<br><br>The region, which sees the crossing of three of Asia's great rivers -- the Yangtze, Mekong and Salween -- is a poor one, with firewood traditionally being the source for cooking, heating and housing for half a million households. However, despite a decade-long ban on commercial logging, such a firewood-dependent lifestyle poses a threat to Yunnan's forests and its more than 17,000 plants and wildlife, including the endangered golden monkey.<br>
<br>Zhang's status as Meiquan's village leader made him a natural choice to launch the alternative energy project there. By enlisting him as an ally, The Nature Conservancy was able to slowly persuade other villagers, who would otherwise be hesitant to invest their limited money.<br>
<br>Hundreds of households in the area have followed his lead. Under the Nature Conservancy's alternative energy project, 820 households adopted biogas digesters, and 600 adopted solar water heaters, many of them choosing both, according to Zhu Li, communications manager at the nongovernmental organization's Kunming office.<br>
<br>The Nature Conservancy says it and partners have taken the alternative energy project to 420 villages in Yunnan, installing more than 14,000 biogas units, energy efficient stoves and solar water heating systems. Most of those villages are remote and had relied on nearby forests as opposed to a power grid.<br>
<br>To tap money for such devices, villagers can receive small loans under the GreenVillage Credit program. Part of the United Nations Environment Programme's China Rural Energy Enterprises Development (CREED) initiative, the program has successful precedents in five African nations -- Senegal, Mali, Ghana, Zambia and Tanzania -- and northeast Brazil. The approach, developed by clean energy investor E+Co, helps entrepreneurs take risks in an otherwise emerging sector in order to gain public trust and attract commercial investment.<br>
<br>The goal is to overcome the hurdles generally posed by limited money and training in such remote areas -- and reduce fuel wood consumption by 75 percent. The initiative -- which links the government with nongovernmental organizations and financial institutions -- harnesses financing, alternative energy sources, entrepreneurship and training into income-generating activities.<br>
<br>In addition, the CREED initiative aims to provide alternatives for rural areas where women and children shoulder the burden of collecting firewood and wood burning. The number of hours spent daily, as well as the detrimental health effects of wood burning and indoor pollution -- such as eye and respiratory ailments -- risk contributing to the persistence of the area's poverty.<br>
<br>In a report last year ("Investing in a Climate for Change"), the U.N. Environment Programme said that finance is "essential" in addressing climate change. "Without substantial and sustained investment in clean energy and other measures now, the reality of a global economy free of climate change impacts will remain a distant dream," the report noted.<br>
<br>For most Yunnan households, whose average yearly income is a few hundred dollars, a biogas digester ($150-$300), a solar water heater ($400), or an efficiency stove ($40-80) is too costly, The Nature Conservancy points out.<br>
<br>Under GreenVillage Credit, households can apply for loans up to 10,000 yuan ($1460) after mapping out their income-generating activity from such devices. To offset any default, 5 percent of the loan is deposited at a bank as a guarantee, and a solidarity group of five to eight households is formed to share responsibility for the member's loan repayments. In return, participants get technical support and have about 18 months to pay the loan off.<br>
<br>Nearly 600 households have been able to tap more than $300,000 in loans to purchase such energy-efficient systems and generate income, thanks to GreenVillage Credit.<br><br>Whereas Zhang's family used to spend hours seeking, chopping and carrying firewood, the switch to alternative energy has enabled them to save the equivalent of 100 working days, he estimated. Thanks to the solar heater, a shower is a daily possibility, and the biogas digester -- which converts human and pig waste to a clean gas that can be pressurized -- has enabled cooking and lighting. More time is then left to devote to his income-generating greenhouse, which uses waste slurry left over from the biogas digester as fertilizer for his grapes, strawberries, apples, plums, cherries, peaches, eggplant, cucumber, tomatoes and squash.<br>
<br>Thanks to increased income, his children were freed up to attend the university, said the 53-year-old Zhang, whose own education ended with high school. Zhang's children have since graduated; his son became a magazine editor, while his daughter became a government official, Zhang said.<br>
<br>"What we have today cannot be separated from alternative energy," Zhang told journalists visiting his home last year. His life's goal, he said, was to educate the next generation well and see an improvement in his grandchildren's lives.<br>
<br>Elsewhere in China, biogas projects have proven more popular than in Yunnan, where colder temperatures generally require a greenhouse to cover the units.<br><br>As of the end of 2007, more than 26.5 million rural households were using household biodigesters, saving the equivalent of 44 million tons of CO2 emissions, according to China's State Council Information Office. The number is notable for a country criticized for its environmental record while trying to bridge a wide income gap between urban dwellers and rural residents who lack access to modern energy services. <br>
<br><br><strong>------------------------------------------------------------</strong><br></font><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font size="2"><strong>JAPAN<br>7-JAPANESE SCIENTISTS DESIGN NEW TRANSGENIC RICE TO FIGHT ALLERGY<br>
</strong>01-July-2009 </font></font><a href="http://www.medindia.net/news/Japanese-Scientists-Design-New-Transgenic-Rice-To-Fight-Allergy-53846-1.htm" target="_blank"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#0000ff" size="2">MedIndia</font></a><br>
<br><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">Japanese scientists have achieved a breakthrough in advancing towards the next generation of genetically modified rice, which will fight allergies instead of causing them. <br>
<br>According to report in Live Science, the new transgenic rice has been designed to fight a common pollen allergy appears safe in animal studies.<br><br>Fumio Takaiwa and colleagues note that the first generation of genetically-modified crops was designed to help keep crops free of weeds and bugs. The next generation of transgenic crops is being developed to directly benefit human health. <br>
<br>This includes vegetables and grains that produce higher levels of nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, or even medicines and vaccines. <br><br>Like the first generation of transgenic foods, however, researchers are anxiously trying to determine whether foods produced from these "biopharmaceutical" crops will be safe for humans and the environment. <br>
<br>The rice plant has been genetically engineered to fight allergies to Japanese cedar pollen, a growing public health problem in Japan that affects about 20 percent of the population. <br><br>In laboratory studies, the researchers fed a steamed version of the transgenic rice and a non-transgenic version to a group of monkeys everyday for 26 weeks. <br>
<br>At the end of the study period, the test animals did not show any health problems, in an initial demonstration that the allergy-fighting rice may be safe for consumption, according to the researchers. <br><br>More research will be needed to bring the rice to market.<br>
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<td valign="top" width="184" bgcolor="#fcfdce"><br><a class="events" href="http://www.searca.org/web/news/2009/jun/web/24.html" target="_blank"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#336600" size="1"><strong>Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo says, "Obviously some are more responsible than others ..."</strong></font></a><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="1"> <br>
<br></font><a class="events" href="http://www.searca.org/web/news/2009/jun/web/23.html" target="_blank"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#336600" size="1"><strong>KC3 Cited Finalist at ADB-USAID-Sponsored Clean Energy Marketplace Poster Competition</strong></font></a><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="1"> <br>
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</font><a class="events" href="http://www.searca.org/web/adss/2009/index.html" target="_blank"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#336600" size="1"><strong>Download available paper and/or presentation handouts of some notable speakers presented at SEARCA Agriculture and Development Series. CLICK HERE.</strong></font></a><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="1"> <br>
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<td valign="top" width="183" bgcolor="#eeffa8"><br><a class="events" href="http://www.searca.org/" target="_blank"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#ff6600" size="1"><strong>SEARCA ADSS: Public Perception of Agricultural Biotechnology: Implications to Communication Planning</strong></font></a><br>
<a class="events_details"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#666666" size="1"><strong>Speaker: Dr. Cleofe S. Torres, Assoc. Professor and Dean, College of Dev't. Communication, University of the Philippine Los Baños<br>
SEARCA, College, Laguna, Philippines<br>14 July 2009, 4:00 - 5:00 PM</strong></font></a><br><br><a class="events" href="http://www.bic.searca.org/events/index2009.html#august" target="_blank"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#336600" size="1"><strong>1st Regional Conference in Biotechnology</strong></font></a><br>
<a class="events_details"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#666666" size="1"><strong>Traders Hotel, Manila, Philippines<br>30 - 31 July 2009</strong></font></a><br><br><a class="events" href="http://www.bic.searca.org/events/index2009.html#abic2009" target="_blank"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#ff6600" size="1"><strong>Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference<br>
(ABIC 2009)</strong></font></a><br><a class="events_details"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#666666" size="1"><strong>Bangkok, Thailand<br>22 - 25 September 2009</strong></font></a><br><br><a class="events" href="http://www.bic.searca.org/" target="_blank"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#336600" size="1"><strong>International Conference on Knowledge Management in Agribiotechnology: The Asian Experience</strong></font></a><br>
<a class="events_details"><strong><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#666666" size="1">Bangkok, Thailand<br>01-02 October 2009</font></strong></a> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr>
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