The Philippine and Dutch governments have started initial discussion for the conduct of the National Seed Technology Park- Knowledge Transfer Project (NSTP- KTP), which aims to support the development of an improved seed sector focusing on an effective seed quality system, plant variety protection, and capacitated public-private seed production system.

On August 15, representatives from the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands and the Netherlands Inspection Service for Horticulture, kicked off the deliberations to identify stakeholders from the government and private sectors who will participate in the knowledge transfer project, and have an overview of the existing seed policies and facilities in the country. The details of the program, including the implementation scheme and timeline of the project were also discussed.

The NSTP-KTP is a collaborative project granted by the Kingdom of Netherlands to the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), which will run from July 2022 to June 2024.

Once fully implemented, it will assist the Philippines’ local government units in the setting-up of  a well-structured National Seed Technology Park, which will focus on the production of vegetables, potato, and rice. ### (ADR, DA-AFID)