'Makapuno' scientist bags 'Gawad Saka' award

By Jaymee T. Gamil Inquirer Southern Luzon Bureau DARAGA, Albay--No one else was doing it, so she took it upon herself to pursue research on embryo-cultured makapuno (ECM), the "mutant" coconut with the soft, jelly-like meat commonly used for sweets. The conventional growing of makapuno has been hit-and-miss and has proven to be low yielding. But Erlinda Paje-Rillo of the Philippine Coconut Authority Albay Research Center (PCA-ARC) said "it is now possible to achieve purely makapuno bunches from ECM palms when they are planted together and isolated from other coconut palms." She persisted with her research even when she was initially criticized by her colleagues for doing something that was not her job as a plant pathologist in the early 1990s. To Rillo, it was simply a show of initiative and she is now reaping the rewards. This month, Rillo will be awarded Outstanding Agricultural Scientist in the 2007 National Gawad Saka Awards at Malacañang Palace. The awards project is an annual search by the Department of Agriculture for exceptional innovators in farming, animal-raising and fisheries. Of 22 categories, most of which deal with farming and fishing, only one award is reserved for a scientist. Rillo has dedicated her 43-year career to plant research, working for the PCA since 1964. Now chief of the PCA Tissue Culture Division, Rillo her 14-man team at the ARC is most known for refining the coconut embryo-culture technology first demonstrated by Dr. Emerita de Guzman of the University of the Philippines at Los Baños in the 1960s. The ECM protocol made it possible for the non-germinating embryo inside a makapuno nut to be transplanted and artificially grown in a specially formulated nutrient medium. This procedure is the most effective way for makapuno palms to be mass produced. As a former PCA plant pathologist, Rillo had also contributed key findings on the transmission of the coconut diseases cadang-cadang and bud rot. Her PCA-ARC team is currently developing a coconut cloning technique that aims to artificially propagate coconuts from the tissues of parts such as flowers and leaves. With only one year left before she retires, the 65-year-old joked that this year's award was somewhat overdue. "I actually didn't think I'd be considered for the award anymore," Rillo said. The scientist from Guinobatan, Albay is the first Bicolano to receive the national Outstanding Agricultural Scientist award, which comes with the Rizal Pro Patria medallion and a project grant of P1 million. Rillo described her love for plants as a natural inclination already evident since her high school days at the Roxas Memorial Agricultural School, now the Bicol University College of Agriculture and Forestry, where she graduated valedictorian. Although like her, the majority of her eight siblings landed managerial positions in government offices, she was the only one who showed an interest in agriculture. "Even my husband is related to plant study. I met him at the UP Los Baños College of Agriculture. I was studying plant fungi, he was studying plant bacteria," she said. Her husband Alfredo also works for the PCA as Region V manager. They have two children, both in their 30s and with their own families. When not culturing coconuts, Rillo breeds orchids and ornamental plants in a laboratory in her home in Ligao City. Unfortunately, like most plant life in Albay, these were lost to the Mayon volcano eruptions and the typhoons late last year. "I used to have around 2,000 butterfly orchids and 6,000 anthuriums," Rillo recalled. Rillo hopes her ECM research will trigger a makapuno industry in the country, with her home region, Bicol, as the biggest supplier. At present, government and private embryo culture laboratories are producing ECM seedlings in Albay, Cavite, Pangasinan, Leyte, Davao, Zamboanga, Tiaong, and Lipa. Rillo said the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) had also funded significant ECM plantings in Davao, Zamboanga, Tacloban, Pangasinan, Albay and Cavite. "The most productive plantations with laboratories today are the private Philhybrid Farm in Los Baños and the Philippine Coconut Research and Development Foundation Farm in Pasig," she said. She said the Bicol region has the biggest land area in the country -- 82 hectares across the provinces -- turned into ECM plantations. "I'm sure there will be a makapuno industry. It will bring diversity to our coconut products and it will be something that's unique to the Philippines," Rillo said. The makapuno’s meat is largely used for ice cream, pastries, preserves and other delicacies. Rillo also said makapuno can be used as an ingredient in pharmaceutical and beauty products. With the makapuno nut’s having a current market value of, at most, P60 per kilo, it has proven to be a high-value crop and an expensive commodity, a fact attributed to the plant’s rarity. "Since the embryo-cultured makapuno seedlings are produced under laboratory-controlled conditions, these seedlings are currently sold for P500 and above, depending on the size." Aside from the difficulty it takes to produce the seedlings, Rillo said there are at present only 30,000 makapuno palms throughout the country. Unfortunately, supply is still so low it has gone below the level of demand. As of 1998, the DoST found that the domestic market needed 4 million kilograms of makapuno a year, but only three percent of the demand is being met, Rillo said. She added that at least 2,000 hectares will be needed for raising ECM but there is less than 100 hectares nationwide. The shortage also means less opportunity for export. "Food manufacturers have expressed interest, but without consistent supply, they cannot export," she said. Rillo hopes the government can subsidize makapuno prices but admitted that funding from the national government for coconut research and development has been dwindling. "Our financial support now primarily comes from the independent funding agencies and the local government units we submit our project proposals to," she said. At present, the PCA-ARC has been focusing on makapuno product development and has produced a recipe book detailing the dishes that can be created using makapuno. The book is scheduled for launching during Coco Week in August. Rillo's team at the PCA-ARC has also been continuously monitoring the 17 coconut clones they have planted in their field. Although the procedure only has a 10 percent yield now, Rillo remains optimistic of the study's progress and potentials. "The cloning protocol has yet to be perfected and the clone fields evaluated over the years, but given that coconut is a very difficult crop, I still consider the development a breakthrough," she said. Rillo has no plans of abandoning her research even after retirement. She plans to use the P1 million project grant from her award to develop an irrigation system for a makapuno plantation in an area where there is a dry spell every year. "People are laughing at me again and saying it's a ridiculous idea. But I've actually seen it being done in Thailand and China, so why can't we? It could prove useful, especially in the hot and dry regions of our country," she said. She added that if an irrigation system could be developed for coconut, the area between palms could be utilized for other crops at the same time, in effect, maximizing the use of land for high-value crops. She said that the main obstruction to her plan was to find land to experiment on. She doubts the government will back her up, so she has been eyeing a private farm. She urged the government to be more supportive of the coconut industry. "Everything else we seem to import, but when it comes to coconuts, other countries look to us as their source," she pointed out. "If only the politicians would donate the funds they use for vote-buying, the industry would be much better by now," she joked.