Source: https://philscatweb.wordpress.com/category/features/
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 17:46:14+00:00

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Resounding, the theme “Sigla sa Agrikultura, Yaman ng Magsasaka”, the Philippine-Sino Center for Agricultural Technology (PhilSCAT) took part in the 1st Agri-Aqua trade fair of Guimba held at Umali Gym, Municipal Town Hall on March 6, 2017.
The first-ever Agri-Aqua Trade fair organized by the Department of Agriculture of the local government unit of Guimba was participated by farmers’ associations cooperatives extension workers, students and various rice industry players. This one-day event aims to showcase the products produced by the town’s farmers’ associations and cooperatives.
Fruits and vegetables ‘pinaka’ competition was one of the main attractions of the event of which local farmers who harvested the biggest fruits and vegetables were recognized in the event.
Moreover, a cook festival featuring ‘tilapia’ as the main dish was also one of the highlights of the event that participated by different barangays from the said town.
Showcasing the modern type of farming system was also among the goals of the trade fair which through PhilSCAT the mechanical rice transplanter (riding type), Mestiso 38- a high yielding hybrid rice variety and the biogas technology were featured.
Edgardo V. Coloma, science research specialist II of the Agricultural Engineering and Mechanization Unit of PhilSCAT, briefed the farmer-visitors on the operation of mechanical rice transpalnter as well as the double-mulching technique as an the alternative partner technology of the transplanter on seedling preparation.
An instructional video on how the transplanter works was shown and PhilSCAT information educational and communication materials such as newsletter, primer and techno-guides were distributed for free.
Municipal mayor Jose R. Dizon, Ed.D graced the opening ceremony together with Leonardo DC. Garcia, vice mayor; Joselito D. Abesamis, municipal agriculturist; and Eric Mateo, Sangguniang chairman of the Committee on agriculture.
The said event also featured Products of different agricultural agencies such as the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Regional Field Unit 3, Ayos Lumboy Producers Cooperative private and public seed companies such as PhilSCAT, Longping Tropical, SL Agritech and East-West Company.
Farmer’s forum and symposium was also held led by Dr. Rocelyn M. Barroga and Dr. Melicent S. Recto, CLSU professors from the College of Agriculture and the College of Business Administration and Accountancy, respectively.
In a continuing effort to further improve the implementation of the Department of Agriculture’s locally and foreign funded projects, the Special Projects Coordination and Management Assistance Division (SPCMAD) held its Year-End Assessment and Review on February 7 to 10, 2017 at the JC Leisure and Business Place in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato.
The 4-day assessment meeting hosted by the Agricultural Training Institute, aimed to evaluate the overall performance of all the locally and foreign funded projects vis-à-vis its 2016 targets. The assessment also served as an avenue for all the participating agencies cascading and setting their strategic directions for 2017.
In a message by Dr. Luz A. Taposok, ATI director, she stressed that the focus of the year-end assessment should be on how the agency would be able to hit its goals and targets. She also urged participating agencies, to show performance, provide par excellence to the agriculture stakeholders and make their presence felt in the field.
PhilSCAT as one of the foreign assisted projects between Philippine-China cooperation in the field agriculture was represented by Patricia P. Bernal, PhilSCAT’s information officer.
For the project presentation, DA-SPCMAD commends the Center for its institutionalization under the Central Luzon State University and for creating 16 plantilla positions that will address the stability of tenure for PhilSCAT staff and at the same time ensure the continuity for relevant PhilSCAT activities.
Among the highlights of the activity were plenary presentations on the accomplishment reports of the different DA projects, updates on the Department of Agriculture plans for 2017, updates on the agreements during the 2015 year-end assessment and the status of project reports submission.
Now that PhilSCAT’s 5-year project implementation is about to conclude, the working contract of all the Chinese experts will soon end as well. This may mean goodbye to some, but as long as the Philippine and China cooperation stand strong to its commitment to uplift the Philippine agriculture, it will always mean ‘until we meet again’.
Mr. Cheng Liangi, 62, has been part of PhilSCAT since 2002. He has brought many contributions in terms of technical supervision on modern Chinese farming technologies.
He has served almost 14 years of his career in the Philippines bringing Chinese agricultural advancements to uplift the lives of the Filipino farmers.
Despite the culture barrier, Cheng made a huge mark to the hearts of the Filipino farmers and served as a ‘father figure’ to all his Chinese and Filipino colleagues.
Now that PhilSCAT second Technical Cooperation is about to conclude, Cheng was nonetheless happy to be part of this growing family.
His journey started in a big decision to come in an entirely new and unfamiliar environment carrying only the courage in his heart and determination to start from scratch.
Challenged by the fact that he will be immersed in an unfamiliar environment with different culture and belief, he took the responsibility to become the Co-Director of PhilSCAT in 2002.
Though it wasn’t easy at first, he was able to overcome the pain and sorrow of living overseas away from his family and homeland.
Come with the huge responsibility as Chinese Director of PhilSCAT were sacrifices he had to endure living overseas.
While fulfilling his duties, his parents passed away. He was beyond sad, knowing he wasn’t able to be there when they needed him the most.
Also, the fact that he needed to be separated for a very long time to his family always worries him and brings him uneasiness.
But beyond these sacrifices he endured didn’t change his ground and waver his decision to come in the Philippines.
“I would like to tell everyone that I am very happy and satisfied for my decision 14 years ago. I can truly say, the prime years of my life were never been wasted but instead have gained so much meaning,” he said.
Cheng had participated in the whole process of PhilSCAT TCP I and TCP II from planning, designing and implementing in the past 10 years.
Through his supervision, PhilSCAT has acquired the basic functions of scientific research, demonstration, training and socialized services in the field of hybrid rice, agricultural machinery and biogas and had acquired the stature of most noted and esteemed Philippine-China project.
He introduced more than 120 Chinese varieties and cultivated 16 new hybrid rice varieties. Among those, 5 varieties have been approved by the National Seed Industry Council (NSIC).
Moreover, he spearheaded the conduct of commercial seed production in the Philippines which exceeded more than 100 hectares of seed production area in 2016.
Aside from the expansion and influence he had brought in the field of hybrid rice technology, he also made remarkable feats than expected.
With the assistance and recommendation of the Chinese expert team, additional funds was provided by Chinese government amounting to US$777 or equivalent to Php38Million used in different aides in the areas of agricultural machinery, hybrid rice technology, infrastructure, and calamity assistance.
He was able to recommend 104 Filipino staff for capability trainings to China. Among those, 62 were covered in TCP II of which 43 were from CLSU and PhilSCAT.
Destiny must have brought him to attain all of these achievements that led him to witness the development of the relationship between China and Philippines.
According to Cheng, life is accompanied by gain and loss. He had already declared his retirement from the project and received the understanding from his family and collegues.
He said that he would like to share his happiness to have work with PhilSCAT staff for the past 10 years and wished for the profound friendship for the future agricultural cooperation between China and Philippines.
Cheng Liangji, born on October 3, 1955 is married to Wang Zongke. He has one daughter named Cheng Yiqiaochu living in Changsha City, China.
He has a Degree in Agronomy and graduated from Hunan Agricultural University.
Cheng who is an expert in Agricultural Administration, Agricultural Technology, Multilateral and Bilateral Foreign Affairs Cooperative Program and Joint Venture Management is also a member of the Foreign Economic Center of the Department of Agriculture of Hunan Province.
His passion in photography and literature inspired him to discover some beautiful places in the Philippines such as Cebu and Palawan.
He became as the Co-Director of PhilSCAT TCP I from 2003 to 2008. When TCP II was signed in September 2011, he took again the co-directorship and headed the Chinese Expert Group of PhilSCAT until 2016.
In partnership with the Philippine Center for Postharvest and Development (PhilMech), the Philippine-Sino Center for Agricultural Technology successfully produced 30 certified ‘barrio’ mechanics in the recently conducted training on Repair and Maintenance of Small Farm Engines held at PhilSCAT Workshop I on March 20-25, 2017.
The 6-day training which aims to train and develop pool of rural technicians that will cater small farm engine repair services to nearby rural areas was funded by PHilMech as a complementing support to the Agricultural Mechanization advocacy of the national government.
According to the Memorandum of Agreement signed by both parties, the training will be done for five (5) batches in collaboration with Super Trade Machineries Global, Inc and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority-Nueva Ecija (TESDA-NE).
Super Trade being the leading distributor of agricultural machineries deploys the resource persons, handle the hands-on training and provides the necessary tools and demonstration materials during the training while TESDA-NE handle the competency assessment and NC-II certification for the participants.
The six-day training is comprisedof lectures on work ethics and safety; identification of internal combustion engine (ICE) parts, its functions and mechanism; basic troubleshooting; engine application and maintenance; action planning; basic motorcycle servicing; hands-on activities on ICE assembly and disassembly; and small ICE servicing.
“I am encouraging everyone to participate. Try and learn. The engines and machines that we are providing will eventually become rusty. It will get old and breakdown, but all the knowledge that you could gain from this training will be useful as long as you live. It could last a lifetime,” said Engr. Joel Panagsagan, Super Trade vice president for marketing and external affairs, in his message during the opening ceremony.
Helen Calica, PhilMech Technology Management and Training Division chief also pointed out the importance of this training to the participants being on the front line in providing technical assistance to their respective regional units.
All the participants received their certificate of completion during the graduation ceremony while special awards were given to May Ville B. Castro as the ‘Most Active Participant’ and Gemma O. Mallo as the ‘Most Improved Participant’ who garnered the highest increment based on the result of pre-test and post-test given during the 1st day and on the 5th day of the training, respectively.
“It’s been 25 years since I graduated from college and the last time I studied ICE was in 1992 before I took the board exam. I can barely recall what I’ve studied but this training refreshed my mind as I read the hand-outs. Through the case I really lack hands-on activities since my thought that having my brother as a mechanic, I won’t need to apply what I’ve learned. At turns out, this training made me realize that I should also know how to do it on my own,” said Mallo, one of the participants.
Based on the competency assessment of TESDA-PTC, from the 30 participants who completed the training, 28 took the exam and only 26 successfully passed the National Competency II certification.
Aimed to extend the technical know-how on using the mechanical rice transplanter to the farmer-participants and enhance their technical capability on seedling preparation using the double-mulching technique (DMT), a total of 25 farmers from Pulilan, Bulacan successfully undergone a training on the operation of the rice mechanical transplanter using DMT on January 3, 2017.
DMT is an alternative method of seedling preparation which can intensify the adoption of the mechanical rice transplanting technology because it uses low-cost materials which are available in the local market.
The said training was requested by DOST Regional Director, Julius Ceasar V. Sicat, who is inspired and determined to introduce the modern farming system to Bulacan farmers from barangay Inoan, Tabon, Tinejero, Lumbac and Peñabatan, all from Pulilan and increase their yield and income, as well.
“This training will guide you in the proper use of the mechanical rice transplanter and the proper seedling preparation. These technologies were already proven and must be promoted to farmers like you who want to adapt the latest farming system,” said PhilSCAT Director Emmanuel V. Sicat in his message.
Moreover, Maritz Ochoa-Montejo, municipal mayor of Pulilan also gave a message to the farmer-participants of the training and challenged them to be receptive in embracing new technologies and innovations and support the Department of Agriculture’s mechanization program.
“Let us open our minds to innovate our farming system here in Pulilan, Bulacan. Mechanization is really a great help for us to increase our yield and increase our income. Let us embrace the program of the department of agriculture particularly on mechanization and use of hybrid rice seeds,” she said.
The said training is in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Region III and the local government unit of Pulilan, Bulacan.
Aldo C. Valdez, science research specialist of the agricultural engineering and mechanization unit of PhilSCAT, carried out the lecture sessions of the double-mulching technique and spearheaded hands-on activities last December 16, 2016 together with Jonathan Mallare and Teodoro Audencial, PhilSCAT laborers.
The participants also engaged on the actual seedling preparation. They constructed a six (6) 1.5-meter wide and 9-meter long seedbed for a 12,500 square meter farm. Unlike the conventional ‘dapog’ style, they cover the seedbeds with holed plastic mulches. Angle bar frames were used to secure both sides of the seedbed.
On top of the plactic mulch, pulverized garden soil were spread with one inch thickness before sowing the 6.6 kilos of pre-germinated LP 937 hybrid rice seeds.
Crop care and water management were also discussed to the farmer-participants by Reymark A. Fulgencio, science research assistant of the hybrid rice technology unit of PhilSCAT.
The demonstration of the mechanical rice transplanting operation was held on January 3, 2017 with seedlings aging at 18 days old, the ideal age of the seedlings for transplanting.
Present during the training demonstration are Provincial S&T Director of Bulacan, Angelita Q. Parungao; DOST-3 Regional Director, Julius Ceasar V. Sicat; OIC-Municipal Agriculturist of Pulilan, Juliet Francisco; and PhilSCAT Technology Product and Development Division chief Carlos Abon, Jr.
During the transplanter operation, the farmer-participants actually engaged in the proper cutting of seedlings ensuring its right measurements.
Valdez also explained to the participants the proper operation and maintenance of the mechanical rice transplanter and its basic troubleshooting.
A total of 78 farmers have undergone 2 batches of capability training on the basic operation and maintenance of Selected Farm Machineries for Region 3 farmer-cooperatives on the Mechanical Rice Transplanter and Double-Mulching Technique on March 8-9 and March 16-17 respectively.
This training program was requested and funded by the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office 3 (DA-RFO3) to train and develop the skills of the different farm service providers especially DA’s farm machinery recipients.
The training focus on the operation and maintenance of mechanical rice transplanter and its low-cost seedling preparation complement the double mulching technique (DMT).
The opening ceremony for the first batch was graced by PhilSCAT Director Emmanuel V. Sicat together with Wilson E. Santarina, DA-RDO 3 Institutional Development Unit (IDU) representative; Carlos C. Abon, Jr., PhilSCAT Technology Product and Development Division chief; and some participating staff from both parties.
In his message, Sicat shared his experiences during planting season particularly on how he encountered problems on the lack of labor and opted for farm mechanization instead.
Moreover, DA RFO 3 expressed appreciation to PhilSCAT for the partnership through this training. In his message, Santarina reminded the participants to use the farm machines effectively and wisely according to its use to gain its maximum benefits.
“DA expects you (participants) to use the machineries granted to your cooperatives and be able to contribute in the government’s goal of increasing the yield of the farmers,” Santarina said.
Meanwhile, a total of 69 participants successfully completed the 2-day training and received certificate of completions while the remaining 9 participants were given certificates of attendance for their participation either on the first or 2nd day of the training only.
“I hope that you will be able to effectively use the farm machines granted by our government. Do not hesitate to ask questions because with the right agencies, right communication, and right farming technology, a better future awaits us,” said Engr. Romeo Vasquez, proprietor of highly successful RSV enterprises and one of the resource speaker during the training.
The two-day training was consisted of lectures on Mechanized Land Preparation, Methods of Seedling Preparation, Double-Mulching Technique discussed by PhilSCAT Science Research Specialist Engr. Aldo C. Valdez, and Business Projections of Common Service Farm Facilities tackled by the Proprietor of RS Vasquez Enterprises Engr. Romeo S. Vasquez. The hands-on activity on Double-Mulching Technique and Mechanized Rice Transplanting Operation was facilitated by PhilSCAT Science Research Specialist Engr. Edgardo V. Coloma and assisted by selected PhilSCAT staff.

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