A man out of his mind! Leaving a stable job overseas to start farming back home might be seen as a move only an unstable person would do. Not for Emerson Agno, though, it was just the beginning of something worth the cliff jump.

Now at the helm of a successful business and an active farmer’s organization, Emerson and his business partner, Lualhati Alfonso Kimura, share how Bt corn opened opportunities for them to support his fellow farmers and made it their mission to transform them into ‘agripreneurs.’

“There’s no money in farming,” Emerson recalls the comments of his Filipino coworkers when he decided to resign from his job at a multi-national construction company in Qatar and come home to help supervise his family’s agricultural commodities business in 2018.

Four years later, he has proven them wrong.

The domestication of important livestock animals is said to have occurred in sedentary communities which were engaged in early agriculture (Cucchi and Arbuckle 2021). As early as 10,500 to 10,000 BC, sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle were domesticated (Colledge et al. 2013). The earliest type of animal biotechnology for the improvement of strains involved breeding, especially in livestock and fish. The English farmer, Robert Bakewell (1725–1795), was the first to apply sheep and cattle breeding successfully for the improvement of the wool and meat quality, by methodical selection and inbreeding, respectively (Wood 1973). Since then, various breeding activities have been done, for example, in dairy cattle for the improvement of their milk production, protein composition, fertility, longevity, and mastitis resistance.

In the Philippines, the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) leads in the improvement of the genetic potential of water buffalo for milk and meat production, to meet the needs of the growing Filipino population. This is done through the introduction of the riverine buffalo germplasm into pre-identified populations of swamp buffaloes (PCC n.d.)

Historically, before the introduction of high-yielding rice varieties (HYV), the traditional rice varieties (TRV) were predominant in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam (MDV). The TRV-based farming system is environment-friendly and has been existing for hundreds of years—now, it has been proven to be sustainable under increasing climate change conditions. It is well adapted to extreme weather conditions, drought, alum, saline, and nutrient-poor soils.

Transforming Philippine agriculture remains an urgent need, not just because it is intrinsically connected to food security but also for poverty reduction. The technologies brought by the Green Revolution in the 1960s sparked growth in the sector, but it has remained slow compared to some of its neighboring countries. Although the total productivity of the Philippines has not been stagnant, as evidenced by about 32% increase over the past two decades, it falls in comparison to that of Vietnam (73%), Thailand (67%), and Indonesia (50%) (World Bank 2020).

Throughout the years, the government has established policies to support innovative developments for food and agriculture. In 1990, the Philippines gained the distinction of having the first biosafety regulatory system among developing countries through Executive Order No. 430 by President Corazon C. Aquino (DOST-NCBP 1990). The current biotechnology regulatory system is consistent with the National Biosafety Framework and the principles of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. It is governed by five departments: science and technology (DOST), agriculture (DA), environment and natural resources (DENR), health (DOH), and the interior and local government (DILG) through Joint Department Circular (JDC) No. 1, Series of 2021. This sets out the rules and regulations for the research and development, handling and use, transboundary movement, release into the environment, and management of genetically modified plants and plant products derived from modern biotechnology.

The study highlighted the potential for enhancing farmers’ pest management practices through effective communication approaches. It further emphasized that the choice of communication approach should be based on the objectives and available resources.

With the advancement of ICT, it is imperative that we should also provide a pest management guide to our farmers and other stakeholders to avoid the following “pain points”: decreased income from reduced yield, increased expenses from pesticide inputs, and repetitive pest control due to inefficient inputs or usage.

The AIP enabled the successful establishment of an innovative communication channel connecting farmers with crop protection experts. We recognize that the current iteration of GIYA has certain limitations, including the following: (a) the assumption that GIYA users possess expertise in identifying pests and are familiar with the pests’ feeding habits on crops; (b) the brevity of the pest management recommendations provided; and (c) the need to incorporate insecticide resistance management, among other important considerations. It is important to note, nonetheless, that GIYA is still in the development phase, and we are actively seeking collaboration with experts, particularly those well-versed in USSD codes. Our customized process blocks are integrated within the HelloDuty platform and are currently not accessible for external use. Nevertheless, we are more than willing to provide access to GIYA with the assistance of our team.