sa Asya, Nagtipon Upang Talakayin ang mga Praktikal na Solusyon para sa Pandemya
Noong Setyembre 26, ang kauna-unahang Voice of Press (V.O.P) Asian Media Forum ay ginanap online upang talakayin ang mga paraan upang malutas ang pandemyang COVID-19 sa mas praktikal at mapayapang paraan.
Ang forum na ito ay inilunsad ng Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), isang international Peace NGO na nakarehistro sa UN ECOSOC at UN DGC. 32 katao, kabilang ang 16 na mamamahayag mula sa Hong Kong, Indonesia, Nepal, Pilipinas, at Taiwan ang lumahok sa forum na ito.
Ang HWPL Media Peace Forum na “VOP (Voice of Press)” ay isang lugar ng komunikasyon at media network kung saan ang mga mamamahayag mula sa buong mundo ay inaanyayahang makilahok at magbahagi para sa malaya at mapayapang pamamahayag sa pamamagitan ng pagtatatag ng isang pandaigdigang media network.
33 beses na itong ginanap mula noong Nobyembre 2016, na dinaluhan ng 176 mamamahayag mula sa 22 bansa kabilang ang Austria, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Pilipinas, Russia, Sweden, at Ukraine. Gayunpaman, ito ang kauna-unahang pagkakataon para sa anim na bansang Asyano na magsagawa ng isang pinagsamang forum.
Ayon kay Piya Ratna Maharjan, Pangulo ng Track Nepal, “Ang isa sa pinakamalaking problema sa buong mundo sa panahon ng pandemyang ito ay ang problemang sikolohikal – kawalan ng trabaho, kalusugan ng pag-iisip, atbp. Sa kasong ito, maaari tayong magtulungan sa pamamagitan ng paggawa ng isang kampanya sa kapayapaan sa praktikal na paraan sa pamamagitan ng mga online platform ng HWPL. Sa pamamagitan nito, ang lipunan sa antas ng pamayanan ay maaaring matuto at magtulungan upang malutas ang sitwasyon ng pandemya.”
Ibinahagi naman ni Ted Chan, isang siyentipikong panlipunan, “Ang media, samakatuwid, ay naging isang ‘tagapagturo’ na nagtanim ng takot at emosyonal na blackmailing sa publiko sa pamamagitan ng pagsulat ng mga peke ngunit makatas na mga kwento. Ang pag-uulat ng makaisang-panig na balita ay nakasasama sa lipunan. Ang paraan tungo sa kapayapaan ay ang katotohanan.”
Naniniwala si Michael Balaguer, Proprietor at Website Administrator ng Diaryong Tagalog Network, na ang mga mamamahayag ay dapat “maging makabayan at maghatid ng totoo, patas at balanseng impormasyon hindi lamang sa panahon ng pandemya ngunit sa lahat ng oras”. Hinihikayat din niya ang mga lokal na eksperto na gamitin ang teknolohiya para sa higit na ikabubuti ng mga mamamayan.
Sa huli, nagpahayag si Alice Kim, Direktor ng International Public Relations Department sa Seoul Southern Branch ng HWPL, na ang isyu ng pandemyang COVID-19 ay pinag-iisa ang buong mundo sa ilang paraan. “Aktibo naming isasagawa ang mapayapa at praktikal na mga mungkahi ng bawat mamamahayag at pagsusumikapan na magtrabaho para sa kapayapaan. Ang International Public Relations Department ng HWPL ay lilikha ng mas makabuluhang mga gawain upang ang mga mamamahayag sa buong mundo ay makapagbahagi para sa kapayapaan, “dagdag niya.
Challenges and impacts of a climate-resilient seed system in PH to be discussed in webinar
Quality seeds are important in crop establishment, yield increase, and low incidence of pests and diseases. However, with the challenge of climate change, seeds need to be climate-resilient as well. The development of these seeds can be fast-tracked through collaboration of different countries in the Southeast and South Asian region.
This type of collaboration will be discussed during the webinar, “Regional Cooperation for Building a Resilient Seed System in the Philippines” that will be organized by the International Potato Center (CIP) and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS); and co-organized by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD). It will be held on October 7, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. via Zoom and Facebook Live at https://www.facebook.com/cipotato.
The Philippines, when it decides to be part of the regional cooperation, will benefit from this setup through acquiring field trial data of public sector varieties and information on varietal evaluation data from other Southeast and South Asian countries. Moreover, Filipino farmers can benefit from faster release of new climate-smart varieties.
This type of cooperation has already been done in other countries such as India and Bangladesh in 2013. It was extended to include Nepal in 2014. The three countries shared data from their respective field trials generated during the evaluation of varieties released in respective countries. The agreement eventually included Cambodia and Sri Lanka and also included other cereals, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, sugarcane, and fiber crops. Myanmar and Bhutan eventually joined the cooperation.
India, which participated in the regional cooperation, released a bio-fortified potato variety, Yusi Maap within months, compared with Bhutan, which only released the variety after 15 years.
Topics of the webinar will specifically focus on the challenges faced by the seed sector brought upon by climate change; expected impacts of the Philippines when it joins the regional cooperation in the seed sector; and the potential challenges for joining the regional cooperation.
Panelists from Bangladesh, Vietnam, and the Philippines will share their experiences and insights on joining the regional cooperation in the seed sector. The webinar will be moderated and hosted by Dr. Sampriti Baruah, CIP Project Coordinator for Asia.
Interested participants can register at http://bit.ly/Oct7reg.
For more information about the webinar, please visit: http://bit.ly/Oct7webinar.
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DOST-PCAARRD launches R&D program against banana bract mosaic disease
A less-studied but major constraint on banana production called “banana bract mosaic disease (BBrMD)” will now be explored through a three-year program funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD).The program, “Banana Bract Mosaic Disease in the Philippines: Geographic Distribution, Yield Loss Assessment, Virus Elimination, and Evaluation of Germplasm Collection,” will be implemented by experts and researchers from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB).
BBrMD is caused by banana bract mosaic virus (BBrMV) more common in ‘Saba’ and ‘Cardaba’ bananas but can also infect the ‘Cavendish’ in the Philippines.
It causes mosaic patterns, discoloration, streaks on different parts of banana plant – bract, pseudostem, and leaf. Severe infection may lead to failure of flowering and 40–70% yield reduction.
Despite its damaging impact to banana production, there is very limited information on the virus, its extent of infection in the country, and control. To date, no synthetic chemicals and proper management practices are in place to control the disease. There are also minimal BBrMV-free planting materials available to banana farmers.
These gaps are expected to be addressed by the new program.
The program has four component projects, which aim to detect and analyze genetic diversity of BBrMV, assess yield loss and nutrient management, eliminate virus and produce BBrMV-free planting materials, and study the sources and mechanism of resistance to BBrMD.
Incidence and distribution maps of BBrMV in the Philippines and information on genetic relationships of BBrMV isolates, alternative hosts, yield loss data on different banana cultivars, nutrient management regime for BBrMD mitigation, and BBrMV-resistant banana genotypes are some of the target outputs.
Technologies such as protocols on BBrMV detection and elimination, and improved micropropagation of BBrMV-free Saba are also expected to be developed.
Moreover, BBrMV detection procedures that will be optimized by the program team can be used by banana tissue culture laboratories in detecting BBrMV in asymptomatic plants. This is to ensure that planting materials to be planted or disseminated are disease-free. Ultimately, these new knowledge and technologies will assist plant breeders in developing BBrMD-resistant varieties.
The online inception meeting served as a platform to launch the program. It was attended by 13 participants from UPLB and Crops Research Division (CRD) of DOST-PCAARRD. R&D activities will officially commence on September 1, 2020 under the leadership of Dr. Fe M. Dela Cueva of the Institute of Plant Breeding, UPLB.DOST-PCAARRD’s Banana Industry Strategic S&T Program (ISP) has been addressing R&D gaps on devastating banana diseases such as Fusarium wilt and banana bunchy top disease through generation of information and technologies on disease management. With the threat of BBrMD infection, the conduct of R&D activities to study and manage the disease is being prioritized to prevent its widespread occurrence in the country. (Kristine Joy B. Panaligan, DOST-PCAARRD S&T Media Services)###
Region 1 products developed through R&D pitched to potential Ilocos region investors
Seven agriculture products developed through research and development were showcased to eight potential investors from food, agriculture, and machine industries in Ilocos region and Metro Manila in a virtual technology pitch day held recently.
Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU), through its Intellectual Property and Technology Business Management (IP-TBM) project in cooperation with the provincial government of Ilocos Norte, conducted the activity.
The products or technologies pitched were: biopesticide for tomato, sandcooked peanut, black garlic, ‘kamangeg’ flour, kamangeg cheesecake, pink noodles, and bioethanol distillers.
R&D efforts on biopesticide for tomato and sandcooked peanut were funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD), while the rest were funded by MMSU.
Hon. Matthew Marcos Manotoc, Governor of Ilocos Norte delivered a message of support to the technology transfer efforts and initiatives of the project. DOST-Region 1 Director Armando Q. Ganal; MMSU President Shirley C. Agrupis, and PCAARRD-Technology Transfer and Promotion Division OIC Director Noel A. Catibog, comprised the panel of speakers.
The technology pitch day was conducted after the three-day technology commercialization training, which was participated by researchers and technology transfer officers from MMSU. Dr. Lily Ann Lando served as the mentor and evaluator of the training and pitch day, respectively.
MMSU is one of the 51 agencies with IP-TBM office nationwide, which are being supported by DOST-PCAARRD. The IP-TBM program aims to establish and/or enhance the technology transfer and commercialization offices of selected agencies, while the IP-TBM offices aim to assist researchers and innovators in filing intellectual property protection (IPR) of their technologies/ innovations and facilitate commercialization of the protected technologies (Cherry B. Bundalian, DOST-PCAARRD S&T Media Services).###