More research focus should be placed on directly addressing the problems in the carabao industry such as raising the country’s milk production from 1% to 10%, among other challenges indicated in the Value Chain Analysis (VCA).
Dr. Arnel del Barrio, PCC Executive Director, made this call to PCC researchers during the Research for Development (R4D) In-house Review last July 4-6.
“The Department of Agriculture’s objectives are to make food available and affordable, increase income of farmers and fisherfolks, and increase resilience in the practice of agriculture to climate change risks,” Dr. del Barrio said.
He said PCC researches should be clearly aligned with the objectives being pursued by the DA.
The Review, according to Dr. Anabelle Sarabia, Research for Development Division Chief, is done yearly to evaluate the completed and ongoing research activities in the agency. She added this annual activity serves as a venue where research results are presented and evaluated among the scientific community. It also serves as an opportunity to motivate researchers to strengthen their line of interest with that of the agency’s mandate and to recognize those who generate excellent research outputs.
“Interaction and sharing of learnings between and among scientists and researchers are important modalities in this review to ensure that research efforts are monitored and evaluated according to the agency’s R4D agenda,” Dr. Sarabia explained.
The review is comprised of 43 ongoing and completed researches, undergraduate student theses, internally- and externally-funded studies, and commissioned researches.
Adjudged “Best Paper” in the completed research category was the study titled “Enhancing AI Efficiency through Synchronized Ovulation and Fixed Time AI in Water Buffaloes.” This research was conducted by Dr. Eufrocina Atabay, Dr. Edwin Atabay, Excel Rio Maylem, Dr. Ramesh Tilwani, Dr. Esther Flores, and Dr. Anabelle Sarabia.
The paper titled “Developmental Competence of Embryos Produced in Vitro from High and Low-Fertile Bulls Classified by Fourier Harmonic Analysis,” presented by Herren Donna Daag, won as the “Best Undergraduate Student Research Paper”. The research was conducted under the advisory of Dr. Peregrino Duran and Dr. Danilda Duran.
Dr. Joram Gautane, science research specialist of the Animal Health and Biosafety Unit, who presented the study “Development of Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) Assay Based Test Kit for the Detection/Screening of Caprine Arthritis Ecephalitis Virus (CAEV)” which he co-authored, bagged the “Best Presenter” award.
The evaluators of the presented researches were Dr. Ma. Anita M. Bautista, UP Diliman Assistant Professor VII; Dr. Consuelo Amor S. Estrella, University of the Philippines-Los Baños Associate Professor II, Dr. Cristina F. Olo, Cavite State University Professor VI ; and Peter James C. Icalia, Mariano Marcos State University Instructor III.
