Agriculture Business Week

The province of Ilocos Sur has finally started to honor its scions who have become highly successful in agriculture as the provincial government conferred on Dr William D. Dar, director general of the International Center for Research in the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the Father Jose Burgos Award in Agriculture during the recent Kannawidan Ylocos Festival.

Dr. Dar is now in his third term as ICRISAT director general. Before he assumed this post, he was the Philippines’ acting secretary of Agriculture, executive director of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), executive director of the Bureau of Agriculture Research (BAR), and vice president for research and extension at the Benguet State University (BSU).

In his acceptance speech, which was read for him by his wife, Betty, Dr. Dar said the award validates in a way “all I struggled for during my childhood.” He dedicated his award “to all the nameless and faceless poor farmers who live under debilitating and grinding poverty,” who, he said, “are a reminder that the world we live in is harsh, yet it has the capacity to be a nurturing and caring place, which is possible through hard work and a will to think out of the box.”

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Before entering the branch station of PhilRice (Philippine Rice Research Institute) in RTR, Agusan del Norte, one of the first things a visitor would notice is the marker on the wall. Among the names written on the marker is Revnaldo C. Gahallo, then the provincial agriculturist during the branch station’s inauguration.

Little is known that this man played a key role in the establishment of the branch station. I did not know this myself even if I have been closely associated with PhilRice since 1990, when Dr. Santiago R. Obien got me as the Institute’s first visiting scientist. I only learned about Rey’s role when I visited him recently.

The idea of establishing a branch station in Agusan first cropped up during a PhilRice conference in Davao City in 1987. As moderator of a plenary session, Rey took the opportunity to request Dr. Obien to establish a rice research center for Northern Mindanao. He told Dr. Obien a 13-hectare farm that was suffering from zinc deficiency could be negotiated with the owner.

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With more than enough experience and candor, Mr. Jesus Tanchangco, Sr. discusses his career, and why the agricultural sector must start anew.

As early as 1997, the prospect of hybrid rice production has been ultimately positive, and by the end of 2001 the hectares cultivated with hybrid rice rose from 500 to 90,000-which, by 2003, looks promising at 107,000; a 3% increase, which compared to other Asian countries, are still in the stages of introducing hybrid rice production. One might say, of course, that we’re beginning to see brighter days in the agricultural sector. Mr. Jesus Tanchangco Sr. was one of the firsts to initiate the introduction of these kinds of rice production, pointing out the difference it makes, such as the all Filipino tropical rice hybrid SL Agritech (SL 8)-furthering rice production, with the advantages of its exportation to Bangladesh and Vietnam.

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Mr. Vicente Lim Jr. modestly talks about how he saved a corporation from disaster as he looks back at a rich and interesting career.

It was once a historical misunderstanding that I had when I realized whom I would be discoursing with; witty and candid remarks I reckon, and this was exactly what a day was with  Mr. Vicente Lim Jr., who very much described himself with down-to-earth affirmations when his accomplishments tell otherwise.

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“TIME IS GOLD” is perhaps, one of the most exploited sayings, but practicing it requires discipline and the will to live by a principle of simply being “on time”. But to the chief of the PhilSCAT Agricultural Engineering and Mechanization Division (AEMD) Dr Emmantrel V. Sicat, it’s a conviction that he strictly puts into practice.

I’m really time-conscious and I’m very strict in terms of outputs,” Dr. Sicat admits.

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“KURACHA” is how her co-workers call her. It’s a Filipino name for a woman who never rests like her.

Even at 65, Jovita Mortega Agrito is still Philippine-Sino Center for Agricultural Technology’s (PhiISCAT) coordinator in the Bicol Region for the technology demonstration of Chinese hybrid rice varieties (CHRVs). She has contributed to the smooth implementation of this Phi1SCAT project in Bicol for three years.

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Showing off two tillers on his hands, one Chinese hybrid and the other local hybrid rice variety, Dr. Carlos C. Abon, Jr: asks, “Which of these tillers do you think is heavier or has more number of grains?”

The members of the techno-demo team would look at each other then smile. It was a question that has been asked in all the demo sites and yet it was relevant and never failed to invite interaction among field day participants.

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