Monsanto PH opens facilities to studes

In celebration of the National Biotech Week last month from November 21-25, Monsanto Philippines welcomed students to its facilities in General Santos City and Pulilan, Bulacan.

Students from the University of the Philippines Mindanao (UPMin) visited Monsanto’s  Research and Development (R&D)  facility in General Santos City on November 21 while students from University of the Philippines at Los Baῆos (UPLB) are scheduled to tour Monsanto’s Refuge-In-Bag (RIB) Facility in Pulilan, Bulacan on November 25.

“We are pleased to open our doors to interested students so they can see for themselves the work that we do and how we are able to contribute to the development of the Philippine agriculture sector, “ said Chat Ocampo, Monsanto’s Corporate Affairs Lead. “We also see this as an excellent opportunity to know the thoughts of some millennials and address whatever queries they may have about our company.”

Meantime, Monsanto’s Pathology and Discovery Breeding Lead Lynn Rallos  challenged the students to analyze critically and not accept information as fact immediately. “You must dissect the information and analyze the nature of experimentation and the quality of data around any claim or statement.  False or baseless allegations which capitalize on people’s fear of what they do not understand should not be sensationalized and should be discouraged,”  Rallos  said.

Meanwhile, UPLB students will be met at the Pulilan Plant by Monsanto’s Regulatory, Policy and Scientific Affairs Lead, Dr. Gabby Romero and Plant Manager Maricis Pelarca who will also give them a briefing on agricultural biotechnology and Monsanto’s contribution to Philippine agriculture.

“We hope that more and more members of the younger generation will be interested to know about the latest technologies in agriculture and be assured of the fact that we need to harness these technologies so we can safely achieve food security for our ever-growing world population,” Ocampo said.  pr