.::. BAR Chronicle .::. A monthly publication of the Bureau of Agricultural Research

18^th PHILARM confab heightens research managers' role to address food-fuel security
by Rita T. dela Cruz

Recognizing the importance of research and the role of research managers in achieving food and energy security in the country, the Philippine Association of Research Managers, Inc. (PHILARM) held its 18^th National Convention on 22-25 April 2008 at the Casablanca Hotel in Legazpi City, Albay.

The convention, which carried the theme “Mobilizing Research Managers for Food and Energy Security,” gathered more than 100 research managers from all over the country to discuss two of the most pressing issues hounding the sector today: food and fuel.

At present, the agriculture sector is at a turning point with the high demand to produce more and address food and fuel security in the country. The unrestrained growth of population has caused food prices to increase, resulting in a higher demand to produce more food.

With the need to secure energy resource and climate change standing in the midst, there is also a need to re-structure further the equations of supply and demand and the resources available to resolve them.

The challenge, therefore, is how to address energy security without compromising lands for food production. At its current state, increasing concerns in the agriculture sector and how to mobilize the research managers towards its realization must be addressed.

Providing a wealth of experience from the financial markets and an economist's point of view was Governor Jose Clemente "Joey" Salceda, who served as the keynote speaker and guest of honor. His presentation titled “Nature's Vengeance, Farmers Revenge: A Roadmap to Food Security” provided the participants with valuable insights on the current food production status and, more important, policy options and sequencing in response to the current food price crisis.

In his presentation, he identified the uncontrolled growing population of the country as the main cause why the country is experiencing rice shortage. He said, “The Philippines is good in reproduction but bad in production”.

With the growing number of mouth to feed and the diminishing agricultural land areas to cultivate, the demand for food is high. When farmers produce less, expect the price to increase. He said that food production has an eventual effect on how the country's agricultural lands are being used as there is a structural limit to land expansion.

Rice, according to Salceda, is a good policy instrument and researchers and research managers have a crucial role to play in it. “For every problem in the sector, there must be a research because every research answers a policy,” he stressed.

Others who spoke at the convention were Legazpi City Mayor Noel E. Rosal, Bicol University (BU) Vice President Helen M. Llenaresas, and Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) Director Nicomedes P. Eleazar.

Dir. Eleazar emphasized the need to meet the growing food needs given the constraint in resources. The challenge, he said, is for the research community to make further shifts in the yield potential of rice by developing high-yielding varieties to reduce farmers' agricultural inputs and increase their income.

On energy security, Eleazar underscored the need for research managers' aggressive pursuit to make this area a contemporary strategic area for research and policy. He stressed: “The advent of biofuels may forecast well for agricultural producers due to the new markets that will be potentially available. However, its implications to food security, poverty and environments need to be more examined closely. Integration of its research, development and extension (RDE) should be imperative.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Emil Q. Javier, president of the National Academy for Science and Technology (NAST), was conferred the 2008 Research Leadership Excellence Award for his significant achievements and pioneering efforts in research which have enhanced the role of research managers in the country.

In his response speech, the former University of the Philippines (UP) president, stressed the importance of a “science-based policy making” to enable the country to make a desired and wise decision based on science. The current rice crisis, he asserted, has brought the agriculture sector to the limelight, allowing policymakers to put their attention and focus on agriculture, particularly, on how to use and mobilize science and technology.

Responding to Gov. Salceda's presentation, Dr. Javier suggested three points to address the problem on food security, particularly with the current rice crisis.

On the lack of agricultural lands, one solution is to increase the cropping index, Javier said. Rather than planting and harvesting once a year, do it three times a year to effectively increase food production.

He also cited the crucial role of the state universities and colleges (SUC), being the oasis of research and technology generation, in every government-initiated program. Specifically, he suggested for SUCs include in their budget a proposal for a dedicated extension unit over and above their teaching budget and hire able people whose designation is extension. This serves as a backstop to the provincial extension offices providing them support in planning and evaluation, and information dissemination as well as assist the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the local government units (LGUs) to achieve food security.

Lastly, he emphasized the need to target rice self sufficiency. He said, “Self sufficiency is the surrogate of modernization in agriculture and that by fueling the needed inputs to attain sufficiency in production we develop our irrigation system, improve farm to market road, extension, postharvest facilities and marketing system.” Given the constraints in government's budget, there is a need for DA to reclassify its budget.

Established in 1989, PHILARM is a professional organization dedicated to the promotion and enhancement of the role of managers in improving and sustaining productivity in research. Its vision is to become the leading professional organization of research in the Asia Pacific Region.

PHILARM is currently chaired by Dr. Heraldo L. Layaoen, vice president for administration, planning, and external linkages of the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in Batac City. The association has now more than 1,000 members mostly from the fields of research and research management.