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NEWS & EVENTS

Apr 15, 2024

Soil health cards distributed in Ilocos Norte, farmers to benefit

Farmer-groups in selected municipalities of Ilocos Norte, including Vintar, Bacarra, Dingras, and Solson received soil health cards as part of the Sustainable Community-based Action Research for Development and Extension (R4DE) for Livelihood Enhancement, Upliftment, and Prosperity (SCALE-UP) program implemented by DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research and DA-Ilocos Region.DA-BAR Program Development Division OIC-assistant head and SCALE-UP Program R4D team lead Kris Thea Marie Hernandez during a field visit in March, presented the details of the soil health card, emphasizing the significance of understanding soil health and fertility as the basis for effectively determining the appropriate kind and amounts of soil nutrients required, which can help minimize excessive fertilizer application and consequently, reduce production costs.Dr. Gilbert Rabara, the project leader for the DA-Ilocos Region, emphasized the vital importance of farmer cooperation in ensuring the program's efficiency, particularly rejuvenating soil conditions. He underscored strengthened cooperation, application of recommendations and knowledge gained from capacity-building sessions, and open communication to address challenges. The farmer-partners also received training through the Climate Resilient Farm Business School (CRFBS) conducted by DA-Ilocos Region. The program covered various topics on implementing effective agricultural practices, mitigating the effects of climate change, recognizing opportunities for resilience in farm business planning, and refining entrepreneurial skills for better farm management and profitability.The monitoring team also had courtesy visits with Mayor Richard Degala of Vintar, as well as Mayor Joseph de Lara and Vice Mayor Jonathan de Lara of Solson, discussing the current status and benefits of the SCALE-UP program. The concept of deriving soil health maps from the soil health cards were discussed, which garnered appreciation and support from the local leaders.Moving forward, DA-BAR and DA-Ilocos Region, commits continuing technical assistance and capacity-building sessions to farmers.

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Dec 29, 2023

Role of R4DE in modernizing the agri-fisheries sector underscored in CVAARRD’s 45th anniversary

Representing Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) director Junel B. Soriano graced the Cagayan Valley Agriculture, Aquatic and Resources Research and Development’s (CVAARRD) 45th anniversary celebration on December 19, 2023 at the CVAARRD Complex, ISU, Echague, Isabela.“We find ourselves at a pivotal juncture in history—a moment where the confluence of science, technology, knowledge, and collaboration offers us unprecedented possibilities. Our commitment to liberalizing the utilization of R&D/E results reflects our dedication to breaking down barriers and ensuring that the benefits of our endeavors reach far and wide. It is not enough for our discoveries to remain confined within the walls of laboratories; they must be catalysts for change, beacons guiding us toward a future where sustainable practices and innovation harmoniously coexist,” emphasized director Soriano in his address.Aptly themed, Unlocking Potential: Liberalizing the Utilization of R&D/E Results for Modernized and Science-based Innovations in Agriculture Aquatic and Natural Resources, the celebration highlighted the consortium’s accomplishments during the Consortium Director’s Report, as well as recipients of the Best R&D papers and posters during the 34th Regional Symposium on R&DE Highlights.Likewise, the director reaffirmed DA-BAR’s role in ensuring maximum utilization of R4D outputs for the AANR sector. He expressed the bureau’s continuous commitment to provide R4D interventions that will respond to the pressing needs and challenges of the sector.The event was graced by various officials and consortium stakeholders such as Regional R&D Coordinating Council Chair and CVAARRD and Isabela State University president Ricmar P. Aquino, DA-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources regional director Angel Encarnacion, Department of Science and Technology undersecretary for Special Concerns Teodoro M. Gatchalian, DOST Regional director Virginia G. Bilgera, and DOST-PCAARRD deputy executive director Melvin B. Carlos.

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Dec 14, 2023

DA-BAR joins 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women

In line with the bureau's commitment to the 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women (VAW), the DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) conducted a hybrid seminar on 12 December 2023 in Quezon City.DA-BAR assistant director Joell H. Lales underscored the importance of cultivating awareness and understanding women's violence to reduce its prevalence in society actively.Atty. Kristy Jane M. Balino, deputy director for Legal Affairs Department at Arellano University, served as the resource speaker and delved into the salient provisions of the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act and the Safe Spaces Act. Beyond the legal insights, her presentation also encompassed the historical context of women's discrimination, Filipino cultural perspectives on such issues, international counterparts of the anti-VAWC law, and the country's global commitments to anti-VAWC.Atty. Balino defined gender equality and the role of the government in implementing the anti-VAWC law. She explained, “Gender equality does not mean women and men are the same; gender equality means that women and men have the same rights, responsibilities, and privileges under the law.”She further highlighted, “The reality is, historically, we were born into a society that practiced gender discrimination and gender-based violence. We were culturally programmed to accept it as okay or the norm and our ancestors were not at fault. Now, the government's role is to try to cleanse that culture, addressing the lack of information and education.”The VAWC campaign, observed annually from November 25 to December 12 in compliance with Proclamation No. 1172, Series of 2006, serves as a crucial platform for the Philippine government to intensify discussions, foster awareness of violence against women and girls alongside local and national women's groups to achieve the recurring theme from 2022-2027, which is to establish a “United for a VAW-free Philippines”.

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Dec 14, 2023

KMISD initiates revision of DA-BAR strategic communication plan

The Knowledge Management and Information Systems Division (KMISD) of the DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) underwent a training on strategic communication plan with communication expert Lily Ann D. Lando, PhD on 6-7 December 2023 in Magalang, Pampanga.The training aimed to strengthen the knowledge and skills of the KMISD staff, evaluate and align the communication plan with current knowledge trends, and identify and address gaps in the current communication plan of the bureau. “As the bureau is committed to provide excellent service in terms of research for development coordination, we have to continuously build and enhance the capacity of the bureau, especially its human resource, to address the effective delivery of research outputs — ultimately to create impact among our target stakeholders,” said KMISD head Salvacion M. Ritual in her opening remarks.Dr. Lando emphasized the urgency and need to position the government agencies as the preferred sources of information in the era of influencers. According to a National Economic Development Authority study, the barriers to innovation in the country is the lack of information, awareness, and knowledge. Thus, it is crucial for government agencies such as DA-BAR to improve its communication strategies, in an ever changing communication landscape, utilizing a different approach.She guided the participants in using the Appreciative Inquiry Process, a tool for organizational change that focuses on the strengths and opportunities rather than on problems and challenges. “Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is the exploration of what gives life to systems when they function best. Instead of the traditional strategic planning where we look at weaknesses and threats, what we do in [AI] as the name implies is to focus on what is good,” explained Dr. Lando.She also explained that opponents to this kind of methodology say that it romanticizes reality, relegating threats and challenges to the sidelines. She clarified that AI acknowledges these deficits but prefers to focus on the assets. It is easier to work with what we already have than repairing what is wrong.“Instead of what is wrong, our focus should be on what is strong,” Dr. Lando stressed.This approach brings people together to identify the times when the bureau and its knowledge management and information systems are working at its best, then envision these best moments as the new norm instead of being an exception. This is followed by designing ways to make this dream a reality, and finally executing this new plan which will involve experimentation and improvisation.A knowledge audit will be conducted early next year, as a follow up to this activity.

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Dec 15, 2023

DA-BAR spearheads training on writing and publishing research papers

The DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) conducted a two-day training as part of the learning and development intervention of its staff titled, DA-BAR Orientation Training on Writing and Publishing Research Papers on 28-29 November 2023 at 4F, DA-BAR, Quezon City. The training aimed to orient the bureau technical staff and enhance their knowledge, skills and abilities related to research paper writing and its stages, and to capacitate the participants in terms of effective and efficient identification of relevant and significant research topics for effective organization and analysis of data for quality and purposeful research papers. Nelson B. Guillen Jr., MSM, assistant professor from De La Salle University–Manila, Department of Marketing and Advertising, Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business served as the first resource speaker. He discussed the research (implication of research paper, different types of research, types of scientific research, characteristics, and approaches, other types of research based on problem and research design); stages of the research process (formulating and clarifying a topic, reviewing literature, gaps and framework, choosing a research design, and collecting data); analyzing data using Jamovi software; and the writeshop. Meanwhile, Danzen B. Olazo, LPT, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Management, Holy Angel University, Pampanga discussed and facilitated the writeshop and concept paper presentation. Organized by the bureau’s Human Resource Management Section, the two-day seminar ended with productive discussions on the topics and a photo opportunity. 

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Dec 11, 2023

DA, DA-BAR, IRRI collaborate on digital platform for rice industry

The DA Rice Industry Program, in collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute, conducted a study to design and develop an integrated and digital platform software that serves as a comprehensive searchable database of digital agriculture tools and services (DATS) for rice industry. Funded by the DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research, the project titled, Assessment of Digital Tools for Data-Driven Decision-Making on Rice-Based Agri-Food Systems in the Philippines (D4AgPH), initially provided an assessment of the current state of the digital agricultural landscape and identified gaps and opportunities to support the development of a digital platform.As of December 2023,  D4AgPH site has collected and evaluated a total of 204 DATS, 67 of which are active. This online platform serves as a tool towards a transparent digital agriculture ecosystem. It features an intuitive, user-friendly, and responsive interface. It has analytics to provide visual insights on the extent of digitalization of the agri-food value chain. These are the values or number of solutions distributed across the agri-food chain in the rice-based sector, production (15), input (11), retailing (4), wholesaling (3), consumption (2), consolidation (2), and processing (2). It is important to note that there are 21 tools in total for the rice-based sector, of which 10 tools provide 1 solution to only 1 sector in the agri-food value chain, while 11 tools provide solutions to more than 1 sector in the agri-food value chain. Further, focus group discussions and key information surveys were conducted with a) innovators to validate information about the DATS, and assess maturity and scaling readiness, b) agriculture extension workers and farmers to assess awareness and dissemination, and adaption. The site also contains analytics for rice data in the form of graphs, information that is indeed useful for the target users like the key decision makers, agricultural offices, technology savvy farmers, and innovators.Building upon the initial success of the project and to promote the digital platform for rice industry that is accessible to the public, efforts are being undertaken in terms of promotional events, further testing the platform, as well as encoding more DATS into the system. Promotional events undertaken include CashlessExpo-NRAM on November 19 and 35th Ugnay Palay Research for Development Conference on 29 November to 1 December 2023. 

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