The S&T (science and technology) torch for R&D (research and development) has been lit once again.
PCARRD handed out the 2010 Pantas and Tanglaw Awards to those who have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of agriculture, forestry, and natural resources R&D during its recently concluded 38th anniversary celebration held at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City.
The Pantas award has two categories: one for the most outstanding researcher/scientist and another for the most outstanding research administrator.
Dr. Roberto Guarte, Visayas State University’s (VSU) vice president for administration and finance, bagged the most outstanding researcher award for generating funding support from local, national, and international institutions for seven major research projects in the past 5 years. He was also able to develop 10 postharvest processing equipment that were adopted by cooperatives.
Further, he was cited for developing 10 new makapuno-based food products which are currently being promoted by the National Coconut Research Center-Visayas. He took home a P100,000 cash prize and a research grant of P1 million.
VSU Prexy Jose Bacusmo, on the other hand, won in the research administrator category and P100,000 cash prize for his visionary leadership and “hands-on” presidency.
Under Bacusmo’s leadership, VSU’s network expanded at the regional, national, and international levels. He also successfully forged a “strategic alliance” between the Visayas Consortium for Agriculture and Resources Program (ViCARP) and the Regional Research Development Extension Network, thus unifying regional priorities and programs.
Through Bacusmo, VSU and ViCARP played “big brother” to the consortium’s member agencies and other consortia like the Central Visayas Consortium for Integrated Regional Research and Development and Caraga Consortium for Agriculture, Forestry and Resources Research and Development in developing bankable research, development and extension proposals on coconut, abaca, and environment, and in enhancing their institutional capability.
VSU also became the only member of the Department of Science and Technology-Science Consortium, in the Visayas, and a pioneering institution with the 1st Agri-Technology Business Incubator in Region 8.
Tanglaw
PCARRD gave the Tanglaw award or the most outstanding research institution to the Philippine Rootcrops Research and Training Center (PhilRootCrops) also in Region 8. The center, headed by Dr. Juliet Roa, was recognized for its commitment to R&D on technologies that advance the rootcrop industry specifically on production and crop management, food products, and processing machines.
From its recognized germplasm collections, the Center developed and released high-yielding varieties for cassava, sweetpotato, taro, and yam. These varieties gained the nod of the National Seed Industry Council, thus, resulting to their widespread adoption by farmers and industry players like San Miguel Corp. The Center also developed the dried cassava grates-flour systems which are ready for commercialization. PhilRootCrops received a grant of P1 million.
Incidentally, the next search for the Pantas and Tanglaw awardees will be held in 2012.