707 Page I Bldg., 1215 Acacia Avenue
GIFT Foundation International Inc., Manila Office
GIFT Foundation International Inc., Manila Office
Madrigal Business Park, Muntinlupa City, Philippines707 Page I Bldg., 1215 Acacia Avenue707 Page I Bldg., 1215 Acacia Avenue
Rodriguez, Jr., B.M. 2006. Generating resources to continue tilapia genetic improvement research and development through public-private sector partnerships in Philippines, p. 39 – 52. In B.O. Acosta, R.C. Sevilleja and M.V. Gupta (eds.) Public and private partnerships in aquaculture: a case study on tilapia research and development. WorldFish Center Conf. Proc. 72, 72 p.
Abstract
In the 1980s and 1990s, three major tilapia genetic improvement projects were undertaken in Philippines. These projects were the: (1) Fish Genetics Project, (2) Genetic Improvement of Farmed Tilapia (GIFT) Project and (3) Genetic Manipulations for the Improvement of Tilapia (GMIT) Project. All these projects were funded by international donor agencies. When grant funding for these projects ended, the institutions involved in the work adopted a number of strategies to generate the funding required to continue the programs.
This paper looks into the various strategies adopted by the institutions with a special focus on the resulting public and private sector partnership models. The paper discusses the successes as well as the shortcomings of the various models that have emerged for the tilapia seedstock industry in Philippines. A brief review of post-project investments made by the institutions is also provided.
As a result of the Philippine experience in generating resources for the continuation of tilapia genetic improvement research, the paper highlights several issues and concerns and makes a number of recommendations regarding public and private sector partnerships.
Background
In the 1980s, three tilapia genetic improvement projects were initiated in the Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, Philippines. These three projects were the: Fish Genetics Project, GIFT Project and GMIT Project. These projects have spawned at least five continuing genetic improvement efforts in Philippines as shown in Table 1.
Additional lines are expected to come out of these efforts in the coming years. The active tilapia breeding institutes or organizations in Philippines are the: • National Freshwater Fisheries Technology
Center of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (NFFTC/BFAR);
• Freshwater Aquaculture Center of the Central Luzon State University (FAC/CLSU); and • GIFT Foundation International, Inc. (GFII) (on
its own and in collaboration with GenoMar ASA of Norway).
The termination of grants for the GMIT Project (Overseas Development Administration) and the Fish Genetics Project (International Development Research Centre), however, has resulted in the establishment of Phil-Fishgen (a collaborative project among FAC/CLSU, University of Wales Swansea [UWS] and Fishgen Ltd.) and the FaST Project (internal to FAC/CLSU). The termination of the GIFT Project has resulted in the establishment of GFII (by the institutional partners of the GIFT Project) and the National Tilapia Breeding Program of NFFTC/ BFAR. The fifth breeding institution is GenoMar ASA, a private company with the GIFT Foundation as a small shareholder. In Philippines, GenoMar ASA is represented by its subsidiary GenoMar Supreme Philippines, Inc.
Table 1. Three major tilapia genetics projects undertaken in and among Tilapia Science Center institutions.
Project/duration Institutions involved Donor(s) Strain/brand
Fish Genetics Project (1986-1998)
FAC/CLSU IDRC-Canada FaST (also called “IDRC” strain in the local
market) produced by hatcheries which purchase broodstock from FAC GET EXCEL (see description below) GMIT
(1989-1995)
FAC/CLSU UWS
ODA, now called the Department for International Development (DFID) of UK
GMT (sometimes called “YY”) produced by Fishgen Ltd. and by Phil-Fishgen and its accredited hatcheries in Philippines GIFT
(1988-1997)
FAC/CLSU NFFTC/BFAR
International Center for Living Aquatic Resources
Management (ICLARM, now the WorldFish Center) Institute of Aquaculture Research (AKVAFORSK) of Norway
Marine Science Institute of the University of the Philippines (UPMSI)
Asian Development Bank (ADB) United Nations Development Programme, Division of Global and Interregional Programmes (UNDP/DGIP)
GET EXCEL (formerly GET, BFAR 2000) produced by NFFTC and its accredited multipliers
BFAR lines for saline and cold tolerance GIFT Super Tilapia, formerly produced by GFII and its licensed hatcheries (commercial distribution has been suspended in favor of GenoMar Supreme Tilapia)
GFII research nucleus
GenoMar Supreme Tilapia produced by GenoMar Supreme Philippines and its partner hatcheries in Philippines In an attempt to illustrate the flow of germplasm as well as the institutions involved, a family tree of these genetic improvement efforts in the Philippines is illustrated in Figure 1.
UWS NFFTC/ BFAR WorldFish Center
GMIT Project Fish Genetics Project GIFT Project
Phil-Fishgen FAC/ CLSU NFFTC/ BFAR GIFT Foundation
GenoMar GenoMar Supreme Tilapia TM GFII Research Nucleus GET Excel BFAR saline and cold- tolerant FaST GMT
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Generating Resources to Continue Tilapia Genetic Improvement R&D
The different strains maintained and distributed in Philippines by these institutions are also presented in Figure 1 and Table 1.
This paper has been prepared from the investigations conducted as part of the project entitled “Public- private Partnerships on Fish Genetic Research: the Philippine Experience”. The project was a collaborative effort between the WorldFish Center and the institutions of the Tilapia Science Center (TSC) (NFFTC/BFAR, FAC/CLSU and GIFT Foundation) and was funded by IDRC of Canada. Activities of the specific project component from which this paper was written were focused on the following:
1. reviewing the manner in which institutions involved in TSC obtain the resources they need to conduct tilapia genetic improvement research and development (R&D);
2. how partnerships with the private sector are utilized to generate resources; and
3. the impact of these partnerships on the funding and resources available in Philippines for tilapia genetic improvement R&D.