Forging Strong Ties for Agricultural Growth

AJJACALAN

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES LOS BAÑOS

6. Indigenous Plants for Health and Wellness Program

Given the rising demand for herbal products and plant raw materials catering to health and wellness, the Philippines is making a pitch for medicinal tourism. It is high time that a program specifically addressing indigenous plants is established.

DA, together with UPLB, launched the “Indigenous Plants for Health and Wellness RDE Program” in October 2007. This is in support to the Proclamation No. 1280 which declared October as National Health and Wellness Tourism Month.

This collaborative effort with UPLB takes into consideration the Philippine biodiversity wherein plant species other than the conventional food crops are studied for their health promoting values. This program is seen to help improve the country's health status while boosting its local economy. The indigenous plants of the country are explored and utilized for their functional use and as sources of nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, cosmeceuticals, and other raw materials for the industry.

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Milestone Projects of DA with UPLB

Milestone Projects of DA with UPLBThe Department of Agriculture (DA) is the principal

agency of the Philippine government responsible for the promotion, development, and enhancement of agriculture and fisheries industries.

In pursuit of this, it provides the policy framework, helps direct public investments, and provides the support services necessary to make agriculture and agri-based enterprises profitable in partnership with the local government units (LGUs), private sector, local communities to help spread the benefits of development to the poor, particularly those in the rural areas.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap

Secretary Arthur C. Yap has marshaled the ent i re DA's r e s o u r c e s b e h i n d t h e

implementation of the Five Pillar Programs designed to help the farmers and fisherfolk productively and profitably manage their farms. These programs involve the completion of more 1) irrigation and road infrastructure, 2) access to technology, extension services and rural credit, 3) building postharvest drying and storage facilities for on-farm production use, and 5) access to domestic and international markets.

His major directions and policy initiatives are geared on sustainable and profitable farms and agribusiness as key factor to the future growth and deve lopment o f the Ph i l ipp ine

Major Contributions/Accomplishments

5. Biotechnology

Inasmuch as DA implements applied researches which have direct impact on the lives of farmers and fisherfolk, it never fails to recognize the importance of basic or upstream research. It contributes to new knowledge and insights that may lead to breakthroughs and the development and enhancement of generating new technologies. UPLB has established a working framework for biotechnology researches to minimize uncertainties when research outputs are shared to prospective beneficiaries. Although basic research results may not immediately find their way to adoption and utilization, DA believes that conducting basic and strategic research is an investment for the future. The underlying principle is to increase their research applications which are vital to technology development.

With the new direction and priorities set by Secretary Yap, DA has strengthened its support in the conduct of basic research aimed at addressing the emerging issues and concerns that beset the agriculture and fishery sectors. In particular, researches on agricultural biotechnology covering both modern and traditional biotech.

Among the recent developments are on high-yielding seed varieties for corn, vegetables, and legumes; developments of bio-organic fertilizers such as the Bio-Con and Bio-N, and implementation of the site-specific nutrient management for corn. Through the DA-UPLB efforts on information and knowledge management, people are assured of appropriate and timely information on biotechnology breakthrough and information for development.

AJJACALAN

PHOTOS BY AJJACALAN and CDEGUZMAN

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The UPLB has carved its solid reputation as a premiere learning institution in the

country and in Asia. For years now, it has kept its lead in generating diverse breakthroughs in the hard sciences including key areas in social sciences.

As UPLB aims to secure its position as the leader in agricultural

research and development (R&D), DA recognizes and supports such endeavor particularly, in UPLB’s f u l f i l l m e n t o f i t s r e s e a r c h , development, and extension (RDE) functions.

An effective and sustainable partnership entails a high level of commitment and complementation.

As UPLB aims to strengthen its position in the field of agricultural research and development, DA hopes to inject “enterprise and agribusiness” in its agriculture curriculum by aligning course o f f e r i n g s w i t h a p r o g r a m framework that will infuse modern perspectives on agribusiness development in “businessizing” the Philippine agriculture for its various stakeholders and clientele.

This collaborative effort hopes to open the minds of young and promising students to the bright and exciting business side of agriculture. The capabilities of future experts in agribusiness will be developed to help them realize the importance of looking into the entire supply chain management from commodity production activities to competitive marketing.

UPLB being an oasis of technology generators is holistic in its approach. It focuses on the capability to develop future experts and scientists in coming up with interventions and innovations on how to better build opportunities in the agriculture sector with particular emphasis on marketing and increasing profitability of stakeholders through efficient management of resources.

DA has partnered with UPLB through various collaborative endeavors. Among them include:

When DA initiated and set the directions to formulate the national research agenda and programs and systematized the funding and resource allocation for R&D, DA knew that forging ties with UPLB will make the a g r i c u l t u r e s e c t o r s t r o n g e r , productive, and competitive.

1. Enterprise and Agribusiness Development in the Agriculture Curriculum

4. Value-adding and Postharvest TechnologiesAgricultural

Generating yield-improving technologies and expanding them into high-value commodities is the key to meet the much needed opportunities for job creation and income growth among our farmers, fisherfolk and the rural sector.

With breakthroughs in technology development and management, significant innovations are discovered to keep us abreast with the fast-changing time. Presently, DA is exploiting the strength of R&D to discover more productive procedures to enable farmers and fisherfolk to effectively manage the entire production system and meet the challenges of globalization, climate change, poverty alleviation, and conservation and protection of our environment.

DA is giving strong emphasis on the role of technology vis-à-vis the modernization of agriculture and fisheries. The globalization thrust of DA is premised on the development and management of technology. It is within this perspective that DA issued an Administrative Order in 2006 mandating and authorizing the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) to orchestrate and provide the overall coordination in the implementation of the National Technology Commercialization Program (TechCom) which is now instituted as one of its banner programs.

Some of the most recent and high-impact collaborative projects with UPLB are on wine processing from indigenous fruits (Institute of Food Science and Technology), pineapple and citrus waxing to prolong shelf-life (Postharvest Training and Research Center), and Extended Hot Water Treatment (PHTRC), among others. R

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PHOTOS BY AJJACALAN

PHOTOS BY RDELACRUZ and NDELROSARIO III

Milestone Projects of DA with UPLBMilestone Projects of DA with UPLB

2. Biofuels R&D Roadmap

With the increased economic activity and the ever-growing population that resulted in the unprecedented exhaustion of primary energy demand, recent talks have drawn worldwide attention in finding the best alternative biofuel source. The issue has become global and the search for a sustainable and efficient bioethanol source plays a major role in the country's drive towards energy independence. These gave DA the opportunities to create more jobs for the agriculture sector.

The newly-enacted Biofuels Law signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on January 12, 2007 is a landmark legal instrument that supported the adoption of biofuel as a viable alternative. DA, along with other concerned agencies, has developed R&D roadmap for biofuels including identified commodities with potential as biofuel stock such as: cassava and jathropa, among others.

DA is collaborating with the UPLB as primary source of information and technologies in laying the groundwork for utilizing the identified fuel stocks, coming up with comprehensive feasibility studies, and generating the most appropriate production and management strategies through R&D for utilizing the fuel stocks for biofuel production.

The biofuels R&D roadmap aims to identify commodities with potential for biofuel production, production management and implications to current market demand, and commercialization and expansion by linking the technology with investors through provision of relevant information .

3. ICT Capability as Tool to Enhance Technology Transfer

ICT has brought many changes into the world by enhancing human capacity in acquiring and sharing information and knowledge. We now rely on these technologies for leveraging information and knowledge gained and made them relevant to today's society. This powerful tool can improve institutional management so that our country can move towards globalization.

Over the years the Philippine government has invested substantially on ICT infrastructure . These are harnessed to modernize Philippine agriculture, particularly in strengthening research-extension-farmer linkages for wider agricultural research and extension. The fundamental concern is the dissemination of timely, reliable, and comprehensive information to ensure that R&D thrusts are well placed in the formulation of policies, plans, and programs.

DA collaborates with UPLB to strengthen its IT capability and interconnectivity with other Centers of Excellence, research institutions, and ultimately down to the provincial and municipal levels. UPLB, being a repository of various researches and technologies, will make its information accessible online and effectively linked with the DA's R&D and Extension information service centers.

All relevant information on agriculture and fisheries technologies and researches are web-enabled for content build-up of the existing databases housed in the centralized DA IT service center for easy access and use of farmers and fisherfolk, and students.

PHOTOS BY RDELACRUZ

PHOTOS BY AJJACALAN and RDELACRUZ

Milestone Projects of DA with UPLBMilestone Projects of DA with UPLB