SA NAKARAANG mga panahon, pinagtuunan ng kagawaran ng agrikultura ang katiyakan sa suplay ng bigas ngunit ngayon ay katiyakan na sa pagkain. Imbes na food security nararapat na food sustainability, ito ang dahilan kaya mas maiging pagtuuan ng bansa ang bio teknolohiya
Up to now, GM crops is up to uproval by the lower house of congress according to Dr. Benigno D. Pecson, Member and Board of Trustees, ISAAA Philippines, President, Coalition for Agriculture Modernization in the Philippines Inc. (CAMP)
Sa pag usad ng agham at makabagong teknolohiya ang progreso ng genetic engineering makikitang nababanaag na ang hinaharap ng food security hindi lang sa Pilipinas kundi sa buong mundo.
In pushing for biotech to be mainstream there are only two members of the cabinet, Secretaries William Dar of DA and Dr. Fortunato T de la Pena of DOST, the biotech sector believes that these two from the executive branch will be of help in pushing for biotech.
Kabilang sa mga dumalo ay sina Dr. Saturnina t. Halos, Pangulo ng Biotech Coalition of the Philippines, Dr. Paul S. Teng, Chair at BOT ng ISAAA, Dr. Rhodora R. Aldemita, Director ng SEA sia Center at Director din ng Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology at Dr. Violeta Villegas.///with videos from DZMJ Online (Mary Jane O. Balaguer) Photos and Write ups by: Michael N. Balaguer, +639333816694, michaelbalaguer@diaryongtagalog.net

French Embassy and SEARCA to hold forum on disaster resilience in the agri sector

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the Embassy of France in the Philippines will jointly convene a forum with key stakeholders of the agricultural and rural sector to tackle the interactions between disaster and the agricultural landscape.

The forum will take a close look at how various stakeholders of the sector cope with the effects of disasters in various stages, from preparation to post disaster recovery.

SEARCA Director Glenn B. Gregorio said examining agriculture-disaster interactions will also bring into the picture the link between development and vulnerability of agriculture and rural areas and will assist the deliberation of current programs and activities.

By the end of the forum, the participants would have identified the risk and needs of small farm producers to manage the effects brought by changes in climatic conditions, their current resources available, and the gaps between the needs and available resources.

Dr. Gregorio said the forum will recommend measures to address these gaps, including an effective operation, coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of the actual impacts of the substantial investments on reducing risks, and the ways to strengthening resiliency of the livelihoods of individuals, communities, and other assets.

The forum will also identify further capacity development needs of the stakeholders of agriculture and rural sector (i.e., LGUs, farm organizations and support institutions), said Dr. Pedcris Orencio, SEARCA Program Head for Research and Development.

Speakers at the forum include Dr. Gregorio; French Embassy officials Jean-Jacques Forte, Cultural and Cooperation Counsellor, and Sarah Mahe, Attaché for Science and Research Cooperation; Ms. Junko Sagara, Water Resources Specialist at Asian Development Bank (ADB); Dr. Rodel D. Lasco, Executive Director of Oscar M. Lopez Center; Ms. Eileen Bautista, Disaster Risk Reduction Program Manager at Catholic Relief Services; Mr. Philippe Couture, Director of EcoSquared; officials of the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD); and local government executives of Albay and Abra de Ilog.

To discuss the national government policy frameworks and current programs on building disaster resilient agricultural communities are Dr. Renato U. Solidum, Undersecretary for Disaster Risk Reduction-Climate Change Adaptation, Department of Science and Technology (DOST); Dr. Nieva T. Natural, Director for Agriculture, Natural Resource and Environment Staff, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA); and Engr. Christopher V. Morales of the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Dr. Orencio said the forum also intends to develop programs for collaboration between French researchers and relevant government institutions and other stakeholders including the private sector based in the Philippines for sharing of expertise and sponsorships.

Deadline for SEARCA PhD research scholarship applications set on August 31

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has set August 31, 2019 as the deadline of applications for research scholarships to doctorate students whose dissertation topics are relevant to its priority thrusts.

The scholarship is open to Filipinos and other Southeast Asians from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.

Headquartered at the campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), SEARCA provides research funds not to exceed US$4,500 and optional internship at the center for up to two months.

Those who will avail of the internship may be given additional scholarship funds to cover travel expenses to and from SEARCA, travel and accident insurance, and stipend during the internship period.

Moreover, the scholars may use the resources and facilities available at SEARCA and its network of universities in Southeast Asia for their research. They will be able to work with SEARCA’s research and development staff on common areas of interests in agriculture and rural development.

The scholarship will also support them in producing quality research papers for publication.

For Fiscal Year 2019-2020, priority will be given to research scholarship applications that are anchored on any of the topics defined by the project “Agricultural Transformation and Market Integration in the ASEAN Region: Responding to Food Security and Inclusiveness Concerns.”

The project is jointly implemented by SEARCA and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) with financial support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

These topics focus on priority commodities such as root and cash crops, fruits, vegetables, and livestock as well as value chain studies.

Application requirements are posted online at www.searca.org.