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NEWS & EVENTS

Oct 21, 2021

Revitalizing the Kapeng Barako through smart demo farm

Aimed at revitalizing the Kapeng Barako industry in Batangas Province, the Batangas State University (BatStateU) conducted the inauguration and launching of the BARAKO coffee nursery and smart demonstration farm on 21 October 2021 at the Pueblo Farms, Pueblo Subd., Rosario, Batangas and via Zoom.BARAKO or Batangas Actions towards Revitalization and Acceleration of Kapeng Barako Industry is a project funded by the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR), and in partnership with public and private agencies. Through massive seedling propagation and dispersal and establishment of a smart demo farm, the project intends to increase the productivity and capacity of Kapeng Barako growers in the province. This can increase the area of Barako plantations and barako coffee production in the coming years, hence, achieve optimum yield and health of coffee trees.BatStateU president Dr. Tirso A. Ronquillo shared the university’s commitment in the production and propagation of Kapeng Barako in Batangas. “Rest assured that our R&D will always be with us in promoting high-value crops in the province,” he added.DA-BAR director Dr. Vivencio R. Mamaril, in his message, looks forward to the success of the project and in helping the coffee farmers in Batangas through the provided funds. “This is a seed money, alam natin na if we are going to put value, we will be able to accomplish per proposal then this is really a worthy undertaking of the university,” he said.Messages of support, commitment, and partnerships were also shared by key personalities from the local government units, farmer groups, and partner agencies from the private and business sectors.Dr. Romel U. Briones, project leader, facilitated the turn-over of coffee seedlings to farmer groups led by Batangas Province Governor Hermilando I. Mandanas.The project targets to identify and involve at least 300 coffee farmers in seedlings dispersal, capacity building, and trainings on propagation and production of Kapeng Barako. 

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Feb 24, 2022

DA-BAR convenes stakeholders; prepares NAFMIP formulation for R4D

In line with the ongoing efforts of the DA to formulate the National Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization and Industrialization Plan (NAFMIP), the DA-BAR conducted the Stakeholders Consultation Workshop for NAFMIP Research for Development (R4D) Sector on 24 February 2022 via Cisco Webex.NAFMIP will serve as the sectoral guide for other agriculture and fisheries development plans, sector-wide goals, outcomes, and outputs.“The preparation for this will be guided by the Transformative Planning Frameworks and Strategies, particularly the OneDA Reform Agenda which is the holistic approach to agriculture and fisheries, as well as the DA New Thinking/Food Security Framework,” DA-BAR assistant director Joell H. Lales said in his opening message representing DA-BAR director Dr. Junel B. Soriano.To ensure participation of relevant stakeholders, key officials and representatives from the government, academe, private sector, and non-government organizations were invited to participate.With 179 participants, the activity consolidated the identified R4D interventions that would address various sectoral constraints as well as capitalize on existing sectoral opportunities for the concerned commodity groups (Crops, Livestock and Poultry, Aquaculture and Capture Fisheries).The output of the stakeholder activity will serve as input in drafting the sector plan’s logical framework for the DA-led National Planning Workshop.  Further, DA-BAR commits to harmonize the NAFMIP outputs with other plans, agenda programs, and roadmaps of the department.

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Feb 23, 2022

DA-BAR, R4D institutions launch projects; seal partnership agreements

Anchored on the bureau’s formulated strategies and programs, the DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR), together with partner research for development (R4D) institutions, launched R4D projects and sealed partnership agreements in February 2022 in Zamboanga del Sur and Cagayan Valley.DA-BAR continues to collaborate with partner institutions, state universities and colleges, and organizations to initiate R4D projects and activities that will help farmers and fisherfolk in adapting to generated technologies and integrating community livelihood.“We are here to continuously provide support, technical assistance vis-à-vis guidance on how we can improve R&D in general and for us to develop more technologies for our farmers and fisher, not just to develop but hoping that they are using these available technologies,” said DA-BAR director Junel B. Soriano during the MOA signing at Cagayan State University (CSU).The bureau also signed a memorandum of agreement with selected key officials of DA-Zamboanga Peninsula to officially start the Yamang Lupa: Sustainable Community-Based Research for Development and Extension Livelihood Enhancement, Upliftment, and Prosperity (YL: SCALE UP) Program in Zamboanga del Sur. The event took place on 2 February 2022 at Guillermo Hotel, Pagadian City.The YL: SCALE UP Program is expected to cover a million hectares of rainfed areas in the country. Its goal is to establish innovative and sustainable agriculture through enhanced YL Program approaches and strategies resulting in an increase in yield and income of farmers by at least 15 percent by 2025.Furthermore, DA-BAR team launched an R4D project that will develop web-based applications to modernize crop production practices for SMART crop production and marketing in Zamboanga del Sur that will improve the quality of life of those in the agricultural sector on 3 February 2022 at the ACC Convention Hall in Pagadian City.DA-BAR team and DA-Cagayan Valley select key officials also attended the launching of the DA-High Value Crops Development Program funded project aimed to develop a Zero Energy Cooling Chamber (ZECC). The technology will help farmers reduce the ambient temperature and maintain high relative humidity appropriate for on-farm storage of fruits and vegetables with zero electrical energy cost. The event was held on 22 February 2022 at Cagayan Valley Research Center (CVRC), Ilagan, Isabela. Aimed to develop improved varieties of traditional white corn, and to determine the effectiveness of alternative plant protein source for feed formulation in swine and chicken,  the bureau and DA-CVRC’s partnership in two R4D projects was sealed through a MOA signing on 22 February 2022. Further, the bureau inked an agreement with the CSU for their project, that aims to assess the target market and preferred blend of Caoffee (cacao and coffee) product, on 23 February 2022. 

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Jan 19, 2022

DA-BAR forges partnership with Bauertek Corp.

Aligned with the bureau’s goal to ensure that the products and technologies developed are directed towards maximum utilization and commercialization, DA-BAR inked a partnership agreement with Bauertek Corp. on 19 January 2022 at the DA-BAR, Quezon City. DA-BAR director Dr. Junel B. Soriano and assistant director Joell H. Lales led the signing of the memorandum of understanding with Bauertek Corp., represented by its General Manager, Richard Nixon Gomez.Noted as a momentous feat, director Soriano described the signing as a significant step forward for the bureau and its stakeholders–signifying the start of a partnership that is geared toward establishing purposeful investments. Anchored on the inclusive and transformative research for development and extension agenda, the bureau chief also furthered that this engagement will fortify and intensify the contribution of the bureau's research endeavors to economic recovery. Further, the partnership will also pave the way to firm up the capacities of its researchers, farmers, and fisherfolks.DA-BAR assistant director Lales, in his message, highlighted the bureau’s efforts to constantly seek ways and means to improve and extend its resources. Driven by the goal to strengthen all agriculture and fisheries research for development initiatives, the DA-BAR continues to widen its networks and forge partnerships with different agencies, research institutions, SUCs, and private companies such as Bauertek. Such efforts will provide implementing agencies and farmer cooperatives and associations an avenue to acquire needed knowledge, materials, and overall assistance relevant to the conduct of their research.Bauertek Corp. is a company engaged in research, manufacturing, and development of food supplements and pharmaceutical products. It envisions better health for the community through delivery of quality products, materials, and services. Specifically, the company offers technical assistance to its partners through identifying and sourcing materials as needed in their undertaking. Additionally, Bauertek also extends its services to handling necessary regulatory compliances. 

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Jan 18, 2022

DA-ACPC lending programs opens DA-BAR online seminar series

DA-BAR opened its online seminar series for 2022 with the discussion of the lending programs offered by the DA-Agriculture Credit Policy Council (ACPC) on 18 January via the bureau’s Facebook page.ACPC, an attached agency of DA, is an institution on agri-credit policy and program development that promotes a sustainable and effective delivery of financial services to the countryside. Renato W. Barreiro, project development officer of the ACPC-Communications and Public Affairs Division, started by explaining the lending scheme of the institute. ACPC downloads credit funds to partner lending conduits (i.e. government financial institutions, rural and cooperative banks, cooperatives) who then loans the money to eligible borrowers.Barreiro proceeded by discussing the features of the following: Survival and Recovery (SURE) Assistance Program, Kapital Access for Young Agripreneurs (KAYA) Program, and Agri-Negosoyo (ANYO) Loan Program. All of these are offered with zero interest rate and no collateral needed.The SURE Assistance Program is being offered to small farmers and fisherfolk from areas declared under state of calamity to finance the rehabilitation of farming, fishing, and livelihood activities of calamity-affected small farmers and fisherfolk.Meanwhile, SURE COVID-19, implemented during the enhanced community quarantine period, offered working capital loans to agri-fishery micro and small enterprises, as well as emergency and production requirements assistance to marginalized small farmers and fisherfolk to continue operations.KAYA offers loans to finance working capital and/or fixed asset acquisition requirements of start-up or existing agri-based projects of young entrepreneurs and agri-fishery graduates. This loan program aims to entice the youth who either attended formal or non-formal schooling (i.e. DA-Agricultural Training Institute-accredited programs and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority farm schools) to venture into agriculture and fisheries.ANYO Loan Program offers loans to finance capital requirements of agri-fishery-based micro and small enterprises to finance income-generating activities such as production, processing, or marketing of agri-fishery products, or a combination of agri-fishery income-generating activity and non-farm micro enterprise.To apply for these loan programs, log in to ACPC ACCeSS or the Agri-Credit Client Electronic Signup System through website acpcaccess.ph.On top of these lending programs, Barreiro also explained that ACPC through its Institutional Capacity Building Support programs also engages state universities and colleges, government agencies, business development providers to extend business advisory or technical assistance services such as mentoring, entrepreneurship, financial literacy among other topics. 

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Jan 27, 2022

Soriano underscores FCAs-private sector linkages for full commercialization of products

In a project monitoring activity of the bureau, DA-BAR director Dr. Junel B. Soriano underscored how the bureau sees the importance of strengthening linkages with the private sector, thus instructing implementing agencies to establish the linkages between the farmers’ cooperative associations to private sector/companies in order to fully commercialize the products.As part of the regular activities of the bureau to ensure that the set objectives of the projects are met as well as lay down the sustainability plans, DA-BAR conducted a project monitoring on various research for development (R4D)-supported projects implemented by the DA-Quezon Agricultural Research and Experiment Station (QARES) on 27-28 January 2022 in Tiaong, Dolores, and San Antonio, Quezon.The two-day activity covered monitoring and discussion meetings on the commercialization of various commodities which include sapinit, other underutilized fruit crops, virgin coconut oil, and cacao. The completed and on-going projects were funded under the DA-BAR’s National Technology Commercialization Program. Dennis D.L. Bihis, DA-QARES Research Unit head, presented an overview of the station including the implemented projects supported by DA-BAR. Processing of sapinit into jam, juice, soap, tea and wine is currently being done at the service facility provided by the LGU of Dolores for the Rural Improvement Club giving additional income to women beneficiaries. Also, the said facility provided a venue to process other underutilized fruit crops such as guyabano, duhat, bignay, lipote, and macopa. Nurseries were also established and seedlings of said crops were planted in target municipalities.On the other hand, the technology on cacao product development has now has been transferred to various groups and associations. Wines are currently produced by the San Antonio Cacao Growers’ Association and the Samahan ng mga Magsasaka ng Barangay Banilad in Nagcarlan, Laguna.Further, through funding support to the current VCO production of the CABAYAN Rural Improvement Club of Barangay Cabay, Tiaong, Quezon, VCO products are being improved in terms of quality and quantity--providing additional income for the beneficiaries. VCO were also distributed to frontliners to help ease the effect of the pandemic. During the said activity, possible collaborative R4D proposals with the station aligned with the the DA-BAR Inclusive Transformative R4DE Framework and the OneDA Reform Agenda were also discussed.Director Soriano discussed the need to strengthen industry-academe-DA collaboration, boost and enhance product development and packaging; and establish FDA-compliant facilities; among others.  Also providing recommendations and insights were DA-BAR assistant Director Joell H. Lales, BAR technical adviser Josie Valdez, and the bureau’s technical staff.The team met officials and staff of DA-CALABARZON led by Research Division chief Eda Dimapilis and DA-QARES Center chief Rolando Cuasay, the municipal agricultural officers, and farmer-cooperators of the project.