Samples of the banana genetic materials were presented to DA by the International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain (INIBAP) at the opening day (Oct. 28) of the five-day annual general meeting of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) being held in the country.
Activities during the first two days of the CGIAR-AGM were held here and those in the remaining three days at the Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City.
During the turnover of the genetic materials at the UP Los Baños (UPLB) here, a material transfer agreement was signed between Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Q. Montemayor and Director General Geoffrey Hawtin of the Rome, Italy-based International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI). (INIBAP is a program of IPGRI).
Witnesses were DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) director Dr. Eliseo R. Ponce, INIBAP director Dr. Emile Frison, and UPLB chancellor Wilfredo David.
The banana germplasm was acquired by INIBAP from breeding programs of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Nigeria, Fundacion Honduresia de Investigacion Agricola (FHIA) in Honduras, Centro de Recherches Regionales sur Bananiers et Plantain (CRBP) in Cameroon, and Taiwan Banana Research Institute (TBRI) in Taiwan.
Under the agreement, DA may use the germplasm for research, evaluation, and production.
As recipient of the germplasm, DA should not claim ownership nor seek intellectual property protection over it. It should also ensure that any subsequent person or institution to which it may make the samples of the germplasm available is bound by the same provision.
When distributing the germplasm, DA should clearly state that it was originally provided by the suppliers (IITA, FHIA, CRBP, and TBRI). DA is required to obtain the same commitment from any subsequent recipient to whom it may further distribute the planting materials.
DA is likewise required to enter into an agreement with the supplier or suppliers before in vitro (laboratory) propagation of planting material for sale, production of fruit for export, commercial production in a developed country, claiming ownership or seeking intellectual property protection over material essentially derived from germplasm supplied under the agreement, and renaming the germplasm.
For its part, INIBAP will collate evaluation data and make this information freely available to the suppliers and other interested parties.
INIBAP was established in 1984 to coordinate research efforts, disseminate research information, and generate funds to support priority R&D activities on banana and plantain (cooking banana).
Through the years, the network has produced high-yielding and resistant varieties that are now available for multiplication and use by farmers in member countries of its Banana Pacific Network (BAPNET, formerly Asia Pacific Network or APSNET).
Composing BAPNET are 12 countries (Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam) and two entities (TBRI and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community or SPC).
Noted Filipino banana expert Dr. Agustin Molina is the regional coordinator for Asia and the Pacific of INIBAP and concurrently BAPNET executive secretary.