IN recognition of her tireless dedication in promoting relations between the Netherlands and the Philippines, Dr. Mary Ann Pelagio-Sayoc was recently honored with a Knighthood in the Order of Orange-Nassau.
With the conferment of the prestigious royal decoration, Ambassador Saskia de Lang said, “I am very proud to announce that it has pleased His Majesty King Willem Alexander to award a knighthood on a leading personality of the Dutch-Filipino community. It is a recognition of exceptional merit to the Netherlands.”
The two countries have developed strong ties in the agriculture-food sector covering the areas of trade, investments, agricultural technology and knowledge transfer. In her various capacities, Dr. Sayoc has significantly contributed in realizing efforts aimed to transform Philippine agriculture and boost local farmers’ productivity.
At present, the Filipino doctor is the public affairs lead for the East-West Seed Group, a local company with Dutch roots having been founded by Dutch seedsman Simon Groot with Filipino seed trader Benito Domingo in 1982. Since its establishment, EWS has become a dominant market leader in vegetable seeds in the Philippines and has expanded its operations to countries in Asia and Africa, according to the Embassy of the Netherlands.
Dr. Sayoc is also the chair of the Philippine Seed Industry Association and was key in involving Dutch expertise in the scoping mission on creating the National Seed Technology Park. The first step for the planned multiyear collaboration between the Philippines and the Netherlands is on horticulture development.
She also heads the Philippine-Dutch Fellows Network Inc., the alumni association of Filipino professionals who have studied in The Netherlands. Through PDFNI, she has been active in promoting Filipino-Dutch friendship while leveraging on Dutch education in contributing to nation-building.
Furthermore, Dr. Sayoc is a board member of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines since 2014, together with a number of Dutch-Filipino companies. Through DCCP, she selflessly makes her knowledge and experience available to Dutch companies interested in doing business in the Philippines.
Prior to her move to the seed industry in 1998, Dr. Sayoc was involved with the International Training Center on Pig Husbandry—an institution created by government of the Netherlands, through Barneveld College, as well as its Philippine counterpart through the Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Training Institute.
The Order of Orange-Nassau is awarded to individuals for their longstanding meritorious service to Dutch society.