The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD), together with other organizations, support the Inang Lupa Movement, Inc. in the latter’s initiative to develop a collective and shared framework in modernizing and industrializing the Philippine agriculture. This support was demonstrated through a strategic consultation held recently at the Bureau of Soils and Water Management Convention Hall in Quezon City.
Inang Lupa Movement, Inc., a serial movement working for a science-based climate smart and competitive Philippine agriculture, is headed by its President, Dr. William D. Dar, former Philippine Council for Agriculture and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) Executive Director, who later on became the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA).
The consultation provided a venue for DOST-PCAARRD to promote S&T for the development of the agriculture, aquatic, and natural resources (AANR) sectors.
The consultation, which also served as workshop, focused on developing the framework for modernizing and industrializing agriculture.
Participants included key stakeholders from selected agricultural state universities and colleges (SUCs), regional directors of the DA, farmer/fisherfolk associations, and recognized specialists in the field of agribusiness.
The output of the consultation will be discussed through a workshop with incoming national leaders.
Dr. Ernesto O. Brown, Officer-in-charge of the Socio-Economics Research Division (SERD) of DOST-PCAARRD, highlighted the recent agricultural performance of the country as well as its key challenges in his presentation on science-based agriculture.
“New fields of science such as biotechnology, value chain, indigenous knowledge systems, and information communications technology (ICT), among others, have increasingly become important in modernizing and industrializing Philippine agriculture. Science-based agriculture is integral in the growth and development of the AANR sectors,” said Dr. Brown.
Among the identified major challenges that hamper agricultural growth include the limited land area devoted to agriculture, continuous decline of agriculture’s share to total employment, and climate change.
Other resource speakers during the consultation include Dr. Edmund E. Mendoza of the First Asian Learning Center of Northern Luzon; Dr. Felino P. Lansigan of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB); Dr. Leonardo A. Gonzales of the Society Towards Reinforcing Inherent Viability for Enrichment Foundation; and Dr. Rolando T. Dy of the University of Asia and the Pacific.