The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) conducted another painting contest for high school students to drumbeat the Council’s forthcoming SIPAG FIESTA.
To be held at the Council’s headquarters on March 2-4, SIPAG FIESTA will highlight the best of DOST-PCAARRD’s R&D initiatives from 2010 to 2016.
Twenty-six students from different high schools in Laguna competed in the contest, which tested not only their creativity, but also their appreciation of the importance of science and technology in the field of agriculture, aquatic, and natural resources.
Angela V. Estrellado of Academia de San Ignacio de Loyola; Leanne Josephine C. Austria of Christian School International; and Maria Colleen P. Lanuzo of Liceo de Los Baños, won the first, second, and third places, with a cash prize of twenty, fifteen, and ten thousand pesos, respectively.
Each of the non-winning participants received one thousand pesos as consolation prize.
Cesar M. Frias, Simeon R. Manahan Jr. and Ellen Y. Belen, all former DOST-PCAARRD employees, who are known for their creativity and passion for painting, acted as board of judges.
Aside from promoting the SIPAG FIESTA, the clay jar painting contest served to acquaint the young artists on the Council’s mandates and its role in the agriculture and aquatic sectors. The event also inspired them to channel creativity and artistry to a more purposive activity to create awareness on the importance of science and technology.
Dr. Reynaldo V. Ebora, PCAARRD Acting Executive Director and Dr. Edwin C. Villar, Deputy Executive Director for Research and Development did the preliminaries in terms of explaining contest’s goal and expected outputs and its relevance in strengthening the linkage between science and technology and education sectors.
DOST-PCAARRD’s Applied Communication Division (ACD), through its Instructional Materials and Publications (IMAP) Unit led the event.
SIPAG FIESTA reflects the vision and direction of S&T as laid down in the Council’s Strategic Industry S&T Program for Agri-Aqua Growth (SIPAG). It also embodies the Council’s commitment to Outcome One of DOST-PCAARRD in a bid to ensure that the fruits of R&D activities for the said sectors will be a blessing for every Juan, in keeping with the President’s social contract.
The technologies to be showcased during the SIPAG FIESTA include carrageenan plant growth regulator (CPGR); improved Lakatan varieties resistant to Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) and Cavendish resistant to Fusarium Wilt; shrimp biofloc technology; Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry in the Philippines or SARAI; swine genomics, coconut somatic embryogenesis; rice mechanization; and asexual reproduction of corals for transplantation.