by Vicky Ella and Leila Denisse Padilla
01-June-2010 SEARCA News Release
SEARCA, in partnership with the Bureau of Agricultural Research of the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA-BAR) conducted the “Fourth Training Course on the Profitability of New Production and Processing Technologies” on 17-20 May 2010. It had 27 participants representing 11 institutions.
The course aimed to equip technology generators and proponents of DA-BAR-funded projects under the National Technology Commercialization Program (NTCP) with skills and financial tools needed to determine the profitability of agricultural technologies. Likewise, it aimed to improve the packaging of agricultural technologies and encourage innovation.
Dr. Gil C. Saguiguit, Jr., SEARCA Director, in his welcome remarks, express the hope that “through this learning exercise, you [participants] will be able to ensure that the outputs of your respective research/projects have potential for commercialization and are able to address the technical needs of your target clientele.”
The course’s resource persons were Dr. Corazon T. Aragon, Prof. Antonio Jesus A. Quilloy, and Dr. Cesar B. Quicoy. All of them are with the Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Economics and Management, University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB).
Mr. Nicomedes P. Eleazar, DA-BAR Director, in a message read by Mr. Anthony B. Obligado, Officer in Charge of DA-BAR’s Technology Commercialization Unit, said that after this course, the fourth in a series, he hopes DA-BAR will be able to publish the second part of the book titled “Financial Viability of Agricultural Commodities,” which featured the 13 technologies highlighted in the past three runs of the training.
The featured technologies were on cacao production, citrus planting materials, garlic production with Gibborelic Acid 3, organic lettuce production, organic vegetables production, ube production, and other agricultural processes. The book, jointly published by SEARCA and DA-BAR, was launched during the National Technology Forum in August 2009. This knowledge product is a must-read for farmers, investors, entrepreneurs, and researchers.
Since 2005, DA-BAR has been strengthening its endeavors in technology transfer, promotion, utilization, and commercialization through the NTCP. Seventy technologies have already been marketed since the program started. SEARCA and DA-BAR have been collaborating on several projects that aim to develop and manage capability-building programs for the DA and its partner institutions.
