Secretary Mario G. Montejo’s Message for
SIPAG FIESTA: Pushing the Best of SIPAG from 2010-2016 through FIESTA
March 2, 2016
Even as we celebrate mileposts in our continuing journey towards an S&T-driven nation, I must repeat two fundamental notions that have always guided us:
One: It is only we, Filipinos, who must chart our own course. Because it is still only we, Filipinos, who must find solutions to our own problems and concerns.
Second: No country on earth has ever progressed totally dependent on foreign technology.
That is a historical fact. We have only to look at Japan, Korea, and our bigger neighbors China and India. The latter two are subcontinents with huge tax-paying populations, while the first two are smaller nations like us in geographical size.
But their people—of the two subcontinents as well as the two smaller nations—I must say, never had small minds. They have always been trying endlessly to expand their vision and capabilities. They were not satisified with small accomplishments. They always go, up to the present, for something big. And that big thing for them is first and foremost, big for their own people.
We Filipinos must think big for ourselves. When we were students in the '70s, we call this the "Makibaka" brand of activism and thinking. Now we call this as Maka-Filipino stance in S&T development.
Developing our own technological self-reliance does not mean we will stand alone against or isolated from the world. It only means that we should study and learn from foreign technology and adapt them and make them appropriate to our needs. We develop our own innovations while deriving the best from the foreign. We enrich our science with what the world has already known or discovered and translate it into technologies that will improve the lives of our people.
It is incumbent upon our scientists and engineers to master the know-how in technological development especially in critical and strategic areas and technologies.
In response, the government – as stewards of the nation’s S&T agenda have continuously strengthened our S&T ecosystem, through funding support for R&D programs and facilities; enhanced S&T policies, and capacity building. These have empowered our scientists and engineers to innovate and translate their ideas into actual products, methods, and techniques of production at par with the rest of the world. And while developing these innovations, foremost in our minds are the benefits they will bring firstly to our fellow Filipinos.
From the start, as we shifted our focus from traditional academic and technical research to S&T in response to the needs of society, we have directed our efforts to something bigger than each individual scientist, engineer, or researcher. And that our S&T efforts should benefit Aling Maria and Mang Juan.
To achieve this, we must – I have always said time and again – initiate a change in the mindset of the Filipino – the government, its scientists and engineers, and the man and woman in the street. And this mindset tells us that we are capable of helping ourselves – that our scientists and engineers are fully capable of producing world-class breakthroughs.
And SIPAG and this FIESTA are proof positive of that.
This is the PCAARRD brand of Fiesta. Celebrating our breakthroughs, rewarding our collective “Sipag” and presenting these scientific and technological achievements for all the Filipinos.
The DOST-PCAARRD ISPs have identified 34 agricultural commodities, through which our agricultural and aquatic sectors are expected to make a difference through the appropriate science and technology interventions.
SIPAG FIESTA showcases ten of these technologies. These are Carrageenan plant growth regulator (CPGR); Coconut somatic embryogenesis; Swine genomics; Shrimp biofloc technology; Smarter agriculture technology; Improved Lakatan varieties resistant to Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) and Cavendish resistant to Fusarium Wilt; Rice mechanization; and Asexual reproduction of corals for transplantation.
Allow me to discuss briefly some of these technologies which were funded by DOST-PCAARRD:
1. Carrageenan plant growth regulator (CPGR), which is extracted from seaweeds using gamma radiation, when applied at low concentrations in rice, enhances its yield by 15–30% in multi-location trials conducted in Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Laguna, and Iloilo.
2. Coconut somatic embryogenesis or CSet, allows the mass production of more pest and disease-resistant coconuts of superior quality from one plantlet per plumule to 1,000 plantlets per plumule by using explants from high yielding tall and dwarf coconut varieties.
3. Swine genomics has increased pigs produced per sow per year by 4.6 piglets, which is equivalent to an additional 460 kilograms of hog liveweight or a 25―30% increase in pork production without increasing the breeder pig population. This was made possible by development of ten gene marker protocols associated to high litter size, fast growth rate, and meat qualities as well as seven markers for screening of genetic defects and disease resistance.
4. Smarter Agriculture provides farmers and decision makers with a decision support system in dealing with the effects of climate change in the agricultural sector using advances in S&T. As of 2015, the program has already produced outputs in terms of technologies, systems, data products, and networks or linkages.
5. Shrimp biofloc technology reduces shrimp’s reliance on protein from feeds; improves shrimp’s nutrition as the technology enhances feed conversion ratio, resulting in larger shrimps; and enhances shrimp’s immune system. The technology uses a microbial mat composed of aggregates of bacteria, algae, protozoa, detritus, and dead organic particles that help control the natural microbial activity in aquaculture ponds.
With these technologies, together with equally important ones, we hope that SIPAG FIESTA humbly affirms DOST-PCAARRD's commitment in heeding the call of improving people's lives through science and technology, particularly in addressing food sufficiency.
Mabuhay po ang SIPAG FIESTA, mabuhay po ang siyensiya at teknolohiya sa bansa.
Maraming salamat at magandang umaga sa ating lahat.