Education Secretary Jesli A. Lapus will confer the second Dioscoro L. Umali Achievement Award in Agricultural Development on 20 November 2009 in Los Baños, Laguna. Recipient is Prof. Charan Chantalakhana of Thailand, who is being recognized for his lifetime work promoting smallholder farming systems. His pioneering research on cattle and buffalo genetic improvementhad led to the development of a new cattle breed called "Kamphaeng Saen." The breed helped small dairy farmers reduce the cost of production and expand dairy herds in Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia, particularly Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam.

The Umali Award, a brainchild of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), based in Los Baños, Laguna, seeks to promote agriculture by recognizing exemplary individuals who have advanced agricultural development in Southeast Asia. It is carried out in partnership with the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), Philippines and the Dioscoro L. Umali Foundation (DLUF). It comes with a cash prize of US$10,000. The awarding ceremony is one of the highlights of SEARCA's 43^rd anniversary celebration.

The first Umali Award was given last year to Prof. Vo Tong Xuan, an internationally respected Vietnamese researcher. Popularly called "Dr. Rice" in his country, Dr. Xuan had been instrumental in convincing the Vietnamese government to adopt the Doi Moi (renovation) policy, which promoted a free market economy, catalyzing the transformation of Vietnam from being a net rice importer to being the world's second largest rice exporter. Furthermore, through various means, he taught Mekong Delta farmers about cultivation techniques of high-yielding rice varieties and spearheaded efforts to contain the brown planthopper infestation, which caused widespread food shortage in Vietnam. He has also done significant work in agricultural development outside Vietnam, such as in Lao PDR, Myanmar, and the Philippines, and of late in Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

The award is named after one of the pillars of agricultural development in the Philippines, the late Dioscoro L. Umali. Umali, who was also founding director of SEARCA, led the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture (UPCA) in its golden years (1959-1969), during which the college underwent rapid developments and growth.Under Umali's helm, UPCA became a popular destination of foreign students who wanted to get quality and affordable education in the field of agriculture.

Dr. Gil C. Saguiguit, Jr., SEARCA Director, says "I was just a young boy when I met Dr. Umali. Back then, he was already known in the UPCA community and the agriculture sector as an innovator and a visionary, making the Philippines competitive in agricultural and rural development education in Southeast Asia. He exemplifies excellence and leadership that have opened the Philippines' and Southeast Asia's doors to the rest of the world."

The Philippine government recognized Umali's lifetime work by conferring to him the title of National Scientist. His numerous contributions to the scientific community in and beyond the Philippines earned him five honoris causa degrees from various universities. Other notable positions he held were as President of NAST; Assistant Director General, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization; Chairman, Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation; and Liaison Scientist in China, International Rice Research Institute.