LOS BAÑOS, Laguna - Secretary Mario G. Montejo of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) keynoted the first ever SIPAG FIESTA at the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) headquarters today.
SIPAG FIESTA highlights the best of DOST-PCAARRD’s research and development (R&D) initiatives from 2010 to 2016.
SIPAG reflects the vision and direction of science and technology (S&T) as laid down in the Council’s Strategic Industry S&T Program for Agri-Aqua Growth (SIPAG). It also embodies the Council’s commitment to Outcome One of DOST-PCAARRD in a bid to ensure that the fruits of R&D activities for the said sectors will be a blessing for every Juan.
Outcome One, the foremost of DOST’s eight major Outcomes, seeks to provide the agri-aqua sectors with science-based know-how and tools that will enable the said sectors to raise productivity to world-class standards.
PCAARRD’s Farms and Industries Encounter through the Science and Technology Agenda or FIESTA, on the other hand, one of the Council’s technology diffusion strategies, typifies a fiesta atmosphere created to enhance agri-aqua technology transfer and commercialization for the interest of the country’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMs).
Montejo challenged the audience, mostly from the research and development community, to find solutions to our technological problems and concerns, as no country, according to him, has ever progressed being dependent on foreign technology.
Inspiring the country’s researchers and scientists to think big, Montejo cited Japan, Korea, China, and India as countries, which continually pursue and expand their vision and capabilities.
“We Filipinos must think big for ourselves and must be guided by the “Maka-Filipino” stance in S&T development,” Montejo said.
“Our researchers and scientists should learn foreign technology, adopt them, and make them appropriate for our needs,” Montejo added.
Montejo noted how the government itself responds to this challenge by strengthening the S&T ecosystem, through funding, facilities, policies, and capacity building to empower the country’s scientists and engineers for them to be able to innovate and translate their ideas into actual products, methods, and production techniques at par with the rest of the world.
Montejo lauded SIPAG FIESTA as proof of the said initiative and briefly described the best of the technologies being showcased in the said event.
The technologies include 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.
One of the highlights of the SIPAG FIESTA during the first day of the event was the inauguration of the PCAARRD Innovation and Technology Center (PITC). As a technology diffusion platform, among other functions, the PITC once fully completed, will house a modern exhibition hub, a digital library, and a conference facility.
Montejo sees SIPAG FIESTA as an articulation of government’s resolve to improve people's lives through science and technology, particularly in addressing food sufficiency, so that every Juan and Juana can truly celebrate life.