Program launched to commercialize technology

The Department of Agriculture, through its Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR), has launched a program National Technology Commercialization Program (NTCP).

BAR Director Nicomedes P. Eleazar formally set the program in motion at the Agriculture and Fisheries Technology Forum held May 18 at the DA-Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) in Diliman, Quezon City.

The forum had for its theme "Making Technology Work for Agriculture, Fisheries, People, Industry, and Community." It marked BAR’s participation in DA’s week-long (May 16-20) celebration of Gawad Saka during the observance of Farmers and Fisherfolk Month this May.

The activity was attended by farmers, farmer-leaders, fisherfolk entrepreneurs, investors, and representatives of nongovernment organizations (NGOs), as well as exhibitors from the DA national and regional offices, among them the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

Eleazar said the thrust of NTCP is to speed up the commercialization of mature technologies that will increase productivity and profitability of farmers and fisherfolk.

It also aims to transform agriculture and fisheries from a resource-based to a market-driven sector and to consolidate the technology commerciability-related efforts of the DA agencies, selected state colleges and universities (SUCs), local government units (LGUs), and the private sector within a common framework.

Target beneficiaries are farmers and fisherfolk, processors, traders, consumers, scientists and researchers, extensionists, LGUs, and the policymakers.

During the technology forum, eight researchers from as many government R&D agencies and SUCs presented commerciable technologies generated by their BAR-funded research projects.

The technologies are the production of bigger garlic with the use of gibberellic acid (a plant growth hormone), silica gel from rice hull, Bio-N as fertilizer for food crops (rice, corn, vegetables), use of floating sea cages in fish production (mariculture), production of ulang (a shrimp species), production of native chicken the organic way, and control of banana bunchy top virus and "bugtok."