President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday called for closer collaboration between government researchers and private manufacturers to bring publicly developed food technologies into large-scale production and expand access to nutritious food.
Marcos made the statement after inspecting Nutridense Food Manufacturing Corp. in Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan, a company that has adopted food technologies developed by the Department of Science and Technology’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute.
He said government support should go beyond research and development by helping businesses scale technologies from laboratory testing to mass manufacturing.
Through the DOST’s Small Enterprises Technology Upgrading Program, enterprises may receive technology and equipment assistance to improve productivity and production capacity.
Nutridense has used DOST-FNRI technologies to manufacture nutrient-enriched products supplied to government feeding programs, including food intended for children and pregnant women.
Marcos cited the company as an example of how government-developed technologies can be commercialized through partnerships with private manufacturers.
According to the Palace, Nutridense increased its annual production from about two million units in 2013 to 10 million, while its workforce grew from seven employees to more than 300.
Marcos also said the model benefits local agriculture because the company sources raw materials from farmers, creating a broader system linking research, manufacturing, nutrition programs and agricultural production.
The President said the government intends to replicate similar partnerships in other parts of the country to expand production and improve access to nutritious food.
