DA-BAR tech forum to showcase new products

New products, technologies, and processes will be showcased in a technology forum to be conducted by the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR) on May 18

Venue of the activity, which starts at 1:30 p.m., is the DA-Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) in Diliman, Quezon City

BAR Director Nicomedes P. Eleazar said the theme of the forum is "Making Technology Work for Agriculture, Fisheries, People, Industry, and Community."

The forum marks 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

Heading the list of participants in the forum are Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap and Assistant Secretary Salvador Salacup, head of the DA-Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (AMAS)

Expected participants are investors, farmers, fisherfolk, and non-government organizations (NGOs), as well as exhibitors from the DA national and regional offices, among them the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), and UP Los Baños

The technologies to be exhibited include those on crops, livestock, and fisheries

During the forum, the DA-BAR-crafted National Technology Commercialization Program (NTCP) will be launched in line with DA’s Goals 1 and 2 based on the Arroyo administration’s Medium-Term Philippines Development Plan (MTPDP 2004-2010)

Under DA through Yap’s leadership, at least two million hectares of new lands will be developed for agribusiness (Goal 1) to contribute two million of the projected 10 million more jobs by 2010

Goal 1 aims to reduce the prices of wage goods through productivity enhancement, more efficient logistics, and improved retailing linkages. Wage goods are items available in the market that are often purchased by daily wage earners, among them rice, chicken, pork, carabeef, milkfish, and tilapia

Eleazar said the thrust of the National Technology Commercialization Program is to expedite the utilization of mature technologies in farmers’ fields to augment their income and transform agriculture into a market-driven sector. Mature technologies refer to those innovations that have been assessed as suitable to the needs of farmers and ready for adoption

BAR has tapped Dr. Bessie Burgos, a division director of the Los Baños-based Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), for technical assistance and training for the BAR staff whom Eleazar has organized to compose the NTCP team

The team, headed by BAR’s Dr. Marlowe Aquino, subsequently met to discuss details of the program’s implementation such as the identification of initial activities and pool of experts who will be tapped for technical assistance

The program is expected to be implemented in full blast by June. — Rudy A. Fernandez