LOS BAÑOS, Laguna: A two-day seminar workshop towards strengthening agricultural technology transfer and commercialization with focus on technology forecasting was held here recently.
The workshop was organized by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development and the Food and Fertilizer Technology Center (FFTC) for the Asian and the Pacific Region.
Held at BP International Makiling Hotel, the seminar workshop focused on honing the skills of the PCAARRD Industry Strategic S&T Plans (ISP) managers and provided them with experiential learning.
The ISPs are commodity-based long-term S&T plans for the industry and operational strategies to achieve the goals and vision of the Council for agri-based industries.
Experts in the fields of technology transfer, intellectual property rights (IPR), communication and extension, knowledge management, and development studies from Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines served as resource speakers.
The resource speakers included Dr. Samson C. S. Tsou, Chair of the Board Senior Advisor, Science and Technology Policy Research and Information Center; Ms. Lee Hung Hsi of the Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan Taiwan; Dr. Hitoshi Nakagawa of Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS); Prof. Glen A. Imbang of the University of the Philippines Diliman-Technology Management Center (TMC); and Dr. Melvin B. Carlos of the PCAARRD-Technology Transfer and Promotion Division (TTPD).
The resource speakers shared their expertise in technology forecasting as a tool in agricultural technology transfer and commercialization.
“The inventive minds of the resources persons provided the much needed inspiration for the participants to explore new strategies and innovative ways of promoting technologies and breakthroughs to small-scale farmers,” Dr. Patricio. S. Faylon, PCAARRD Executive Director, said.
Among the topics discussed during the workshop were the historical background of the agriculture system, its changing landscape and its implications on technology transfer as discussed by Dr. Tsou; Taiwan’s experience in the commercialization of R&D results by Ms. Lee; and the key strategies in applying technology forecasting as discussed by Dr. Nakagawa.
Prof. Imbang and Dr. Carlos, on the other hand, discussed technology transfer and commercialization and the application of technology forecasting in the Philippines.
The ISP managers expressed their interest in applying technology forecasting in updating and improving the ISP technology chain and matrices, among other applicable uses.