Following APSA’s recent announcement and recognition of the 2021 most influential seed scientists in the Asia-Pacific (see end info for link), Asian Seed reached out to the five awardees for interviews to find out more about what drives them. These interviews will be published on APSA’s website on a weekly basis throughout the month of December. This week’s interview features Dr. Manuel L Logroño, who was named as the 2021 most influential plant breeding researcher for field crops (private sector) in the Asia-Pacific. Having recently retired from Syngenta Asia Pacific Pte Ltd (The Philippines), Dr. Logroño was recognized for a number of major accomplishments during his career spanning four decades, 25 years of which was working in the private seed industry. These include the development of outstanding corn and rice hybrids, and being a key player in the introduction and eventual commercialization of genetically modified corn hybrids in the Philippines. More details about him and his accomplishments are covered in the announcement story, linked to at the end. Following is Asian Seed’s interview with Dr. Logroño.
Making a difference in the farmers’ lives has inspired me to work in seeds R&D for more than 40 years of my career, both in public and private sectors. It motivates me every day to work with my team in developing new products and technologies that could help increase farm productivity, promote sustainability and ensure food security. It drives my passion to work harder, hoping that what we do in the seeds business would improve the standard of living for our farmers, their families and rural communities. The other thing that motivates me is to see my team members become successful in their chosen career. I am always delighted to see them grow, gain more knowledge and experience and become leaders in the organization. Having FUN working with the team across different cultures is one of the joys that I anticipate every day.
There are major global trends that are affecting the future of seeds R&D. First, the burgeoning population (some models suggest 10 billion people by 2050) that needs to be fed and nourished. We have to dramatically increase yields in crops like rice, corn, wheat, soybean, vegetables and other crops that are the main sources of human and animal nutrition. Second, the rapidly changing climatic conditions that severely impact agriculture and food production. Climate change and the frequent occurrence of adverse weather conditions are probably the biggest threats to agriculture and the food industry in the long term. The changing climate are also spawning serious diseases and pest outbreaks in the tropics. One example was the recent devastating Fall Armyworm infestation across Asia-Pacific and other regions. Lack of irrigation water coupled with soil salinization and degradation are also seriously hampering our ability to sustain farm productivity in the future.
But as Albert Einstein said that “in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” The use of new innovative technologies is bringing great potential to increase farm productivity, profitability and sustainability. We do need to develop climate-resilient crops and farming systems that enable land and water use efficiency, minimal use of chemical inputs and development of durable genetic resistance to major abiotic and biotic stresses. With the greater push for a low-carbon economy, the seeds researchers would be challenged to design crops that utilize less production inputs while optimizing the economic yield per unit land area. The shifting food preferences among consumers are also influencing our decisions to breed and launch products with the right nutritional qualities.
Advances in digitization, crop analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, genomics and gene editing are also changing the way we do breeding in the future. These waves of technologies create opportunities for the future of plant breeding as they already are transforming the way how we do seeds R&D.
We also have also to address the problems emanating from the aging farmer population and the lack of interest among the young generation to take up agriculture as a profession. The use of robots to carry out tedious manual work safely, such as spraying, weeding and harvesting, is already happening. But we still need a steady source of well-trained agricultural scientists and workers that can do the jobs of the future.
I still believe that plant breeding is both a science and an art. The science part is rapidly progressing and we have now new breeding and selection tools. It is essential that modern plant breeders would adopt the new breeding technologies that are more efficient and precise in developing new high performing commercial products and in sustaining genetic gain. The integration of environmental, phenotypic and genotypic data to predict performance and prescribe product positioning in a specific market segment is becoming widely used. Biotechnology and gene editing are already impacting how we improve certain traits faster and more precise than conventional methods. Reskilling and upskilling are crucial elements of our talent development process in order to future-proof our plant breeders and seed researchers.
The art part is something that needs to be developed from the very beginning of a plant breeder’s career. While breeders have to grasp and employ a vast array of modern tools in genetics, physiology, agronomy and crop analytics, we should not forget to inculcate the value of creativity, intuition and the classic “breeder’s eye.” These are all driven by the individual’s passion for a crop(s) and for his/her deep understanding of the growers’ pain points. The art component includes intimate knowledge of germplasm, going out to the field to do selection and certainly interacting with the growers in ensuring that he/she clearly understand the needs of the customers. These skills are normally not taught in schools but rather acquired through long years of actual breeding experience. Breeders would not be successful if they always sit at their desks doing prediction models but never go to the field! In the end, successful breeders should strive to have a good balance between the science and the art side of plant breeding.
There are two that I could share. First is a quote from Jonathan Swift: “Whoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together.”
The second is a quote from Patrick Lencioni: “Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare.”
I am continuing with my advocacy to help our small holder farmers in Asia-Pacific region. There is still so much to do, and we need to work together for the sake of our poor farmers.
Read more about Dr. Logroño and the other awardees and their accomplishments in our story here. See also, full interview with Dr. Krishna Reddy of ICAR here, Dr. Conrado Balatero here, and Dr. Sharan Angadi here.