Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Mario G. Montejo considers the Los Baños Science Community Foundation, Inc. (LBSCFI) as a special partner of the Department.
In a message delivered by DOST Assistant Secretary for Technology Transfer Ma. Lourdes P. Orijola during the opening ceremonies of the LBSCFI 2012 National Science and Technology (NSTW) celebration, Montejo described the DOST-LBSCFI partnership as based on an unwritten arrangement.
“Both institutions agree to cooperate based on mutual interest, that of the pursuit and promotion of S&T (science and technology) to achieve national development”.
“The partnership is truly a special one”.
Montejo also stressed his commendation for the LBSCFI for continuing the DOST tradition of celebrating NSTW.
The NSTW was instituted via Presidential Proclamation 2214 in 1982, thus making the celebration three decades old.
Further, Montejo underscored that LBSCFI is the only remaining science community established by the Department.
Meanwhile, member-agencies of the LBSCFI showcased their unity through an exhibit and a techno forum, and by recognizing an outstanding R&D work in the agriculture and natural resources sectors.
In “Wonderama” exhibit, all 23 agencies of the Foundation participated and featured science discoveries, latest research breakthroughs, commercializable technologies, and other items related to the LBSCFI 2012 NSTW theme of “Mas Masaya sa Syensaya”.
Wonderama is an interactive science learning exhibit, which caters to various audiences like students, teachers, farmers, and other interested groups. It is aimed at enhancing awareness about science and how it works for the improvement of the quality of life.
The exhibit ran from July 18 to 20 at the University of the Philippines Los Baños’ (UPLB) Baker Hall.
Meanwhile, the techno forum, “Talakayan tungkol sa kalusugan, kapaligiran, at kabuhayan”, was held on July 19 at the Institute of Cooperative and Bio-Enterprise Development, also in UPLB.
The forum aimed to increase the level of awareness of the target participants on selected topics. It hopes to bringing the science community closer to its beneficiaries and to sustain strong partnerships and collaboration among LBSCFI member-agencies.
Closing the celebration was an awarding ceremony where Secretary and Director General of the National Economic and Development Authority Arsenio M. Balisacan keynoted.
Winning the Philippine Agriculture and Resources Research Foundation, Inc. R&D Award in the research category is a UPLB research project “Prevalence of American Foulbrood (AFB) disease of honeybee, Apis mellifera Linnaeus, and its pathogenicity to Asian Honey Bee, Apis cerana Fabricius in the Philippines”.
The UPLB research team is composed of Cleofas R. Cervancia, Alejandro C. Fajardo, Noel G. Sabino, Renard M. Jamora, Kryza I. Consignado, and Bernard Francis C. Flores.
Another highlight of the event was the signing of agreement extending the memorandum of understanding for institutional cooperation between two LBSCFI agencies: the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture and the International Rice Research Institute.