The Philippines needs greater investment in Science and Technology.

Over the past decades, countries, especially the more advanced ones saw that the fruits of their continuous innovation process can have significant contribution towards their economic development. Specifically, the high level of Science and Technology Activities (STAs) has fueled their bid for economic and social progress. The rapid economic growth achieved by some countries in the 1990s, for instance, can be characterized as driven by rapid creation of knowledge and technologies.

In the case of Philippine agriculture, success stories resulting from science-based knowledge or technologies are not lacking. The achievements of Masagana 99, the breakthrough in mango flower induction, and the tilapia sex reversal technology are among the more familiar examples of such stories.

Nevertheless, many of what have been achieved in the past were not without struggles for financial support from the government and other donors. Together with economic decline, funds for STAs have dramatically decreased. Fund shortage has persisted through decades and has even worsened in the recent years that today, government investment in agriculture S&T and S&T as a whole is nothing short of dismal.

Clamor for increased investments in agriculture S&T is gaining renewed momentum as the country’s economic and social standing continue to worsen. Considering that 75% of the rural poor and more than a third of all working Filipinos are dependent in agriculture for income and employment, investing in agriculture S&T is one of the most direct strategies for decreasing poverty and promoting equal opportunities for socio-economic growth. However, this poses a strong challenge before the now much smaller public funds and may jeopardize budgets for other sectors.