An innovative capacity-building program on drone utilization for forage production is a new way forward in the partnership between the DA-Philippine Carabao Center (DA-PCC) and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
This innovative project that will start in 2025 until 2027 aims to capacitate DA-PCC technical staff and partner local government units to improve forage production using drone technologies for sustainable food sources and livestock nutrition.
During the planning and consultation on August 18 to 21, 2024 held at the DA-PCC National Headquarters and Gene Pool, the DA-PCC and KOICA laid out comprehensive plans and policies to guide the implementation of the technology.
The implementation survey will collect necessary documents and data for the implementation plan to be submitted to KOICA Headquarters. Data will be gathered from the forage areas of the National Gene Pool and Bull Farm of DA-PCC at CLSU for institutional farms and ACDI Forage Farm and Moises Alfonso Forage Farm for clients.
The first year and second year will cover training on legal and institutional systems, policy trends, international challenges, and practical training for technical staff. Wrap-up learning events will be implemented during the third year. A manual will be developed to guide the production systems while data field monitoring will be conducted for effective resource management.
The DA-PCC’s Livestock Engineering Section (LES) and Production Systems and Nutrition Section (PSNS) will lead the project implementation.
The KOICA implementation survey team consists of Prof. Chang Jaeyun, director of Chungbok International Development Cooperation Center; Prof. Park Chang Woo, assistant professor from Cheongju University; and Prof. Choi Seong Ho, dean of Agriculture, Life, and Sciences at Chungbuk National University.
The activity was spearheaded by DA-PCC Executive Director Dr. Liza G. Battad and DA-PCC Deputy Executive Director Dr. Caro Salces.
