To capacitate government practitioners working in the field of fisheries biotechnology research and development, regulations, management, policy, and communication, the Department of Agriculture – Fisheries Biotechnology Center (DA-FBC) conducted an online training-workshop titled, “Progressive Manpower Enhancement Program (PMEP) Level 3: Science Communication” on February 14-17, 2023.

During the opening program, NFRDI Executive Director Dr. Lilian C. Garcia emphasized the severity of food security issues globally, which have been exacerbated by multiple factors such as climate change, Covid-19, and the continuous decline in production and environmental condition of capture fisheries. She also highlighted the crucial roles that fisheries biotechnology can play in addressing these challenges.

Seventy technical staff from NFRDI and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), participated in the three-day online workshop.

The workshop covered various topics related to science communication, including different communication models, effective public speaking and listening skills, communication strategies for media and scientific journals, and the use of social media in science communication. As a final exercise, participants shared their message mapping workshop outputs.

FBC, which is hosted by the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI), also organized a laboratory tour on February 21–23, to heighten their learnings during the training-workshop.

The laboratory tour took place at three key facilities: NFRDI-Freshwater Fisheries Research and Development Center in Butong, Taal, Batangas; Philippine Genome Center and National Institute for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, both situated at the University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City. The tour aimed to raise awareness of the biotechnology resources available in the country, as well as the diverse range of species currently being studied at these facilities.

PMEP was initiated by the Department of Agriculture- Biotech Program Office (DA-BPO), in partnership with the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) Inc.

In 2021, DA-FBC facilitated the “Development of Competency-Based Training Tools, and Research and Development Track for Fisheries Biotechnology Networks” through the PMEP Level 2. ### (Aljon Rey Catedrilla and Cyrenes Moncawe)