RP seeks USDA funding for international bioenergy research center project

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is seeking financing from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the establishment of an international bioenergy research center for Asia and the Pacific that will be based in Manila.

Marriz Agbon, president of the Philippine Agricultural Development and Commercial Corp. (PADCC), said he has conferred with the USDA and the Colorado State University about a possible technology exchange and putting up an international bioenergy research center for Asia and the Pacific that would be based here in Manila.

Agbon said the international bioenergy research center would be built in cooperation with the Colorado State University and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the US Department of Energy.

According to Agbon, talks are preliminary and no amount for funding of the research center has been discussed.

He said the Philippines is seeking help from the US because their technology, especially in ligno-cellulosic or second-generation biofuel technology, is more advanced.

Second-generation biofuel technology involves the use of alternative feedstock such as rice straw, corn stalks, coconut fronds, forest waste and sugar bagasse.

Agbon said the Philippines is an ideal place for the research center as the country’s biomass potential is estimated at around 50 million metric tons of agricultural waste per year.