Developing countries, still heavily dependent on agriculture, must now harness biotechnology to modernize agricultural production and diversify product outputs. The Philippines was one of the first Asian countries to establish a biotechnology research and development program. However, not much progress in harnessing the tools of biotechnology has been achieved, especially in the area of varietal improvement. Although there was an early realization of the importance of biotechnology in national agricultural development, there was little political will to provide resources for these programs to move forward. Modern biotechnology must be regarded as one of the tools in modernizing Philippine...