A professor of Isabela State University (ISU) is among the five outstanding academic experts from various universities in Southeast Asia to receive the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) Regional Professorial Chair Grant (RPCG).
SEARCA has announced the appointment of ISU Vice President Dr. Orlando Balderama for Research and Extension together with four other Southeast Asian professors for Academic Year 2023-2024.
All entitled to a grant of $5,000 each, the other grantees are Dr. He Jie, associate professor at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore; Dr. Suporn Thongyuan, assistant professor at the Kasetsart University, Thailand; Dr. Faizal Mustapha, professor at the Universiti Putra Malaysia; and Dr. Nguyen Dac Khoa, associate professor at the Can Tho University, Vietnam.
SEARCA Director Dr. Glenn Gregorio said the SEARCA RPCG is an annual recognition given to outstanding Southeast Asian academic professionals who have made significant and notable contributions to their respective fields toward Accelerating Transformation through Agricultural Innovation (ATTAIN), SEARCA's 11th Five-Year Plan (FYP).
Since the Academic Year 2012-2013, Gregorio said SEARCA has awarded the grant to 56 deserving individuals for their contributions to research, instruction and innovation efforts supporting agricultural and rural development in Southeast Asia.
According to SEARCA, Balderama's dedication as a researcher and academician with expertise in climate change and water resources management is asserted with the establishment of the country's first and only Smart Water Infrastructure Management Research and Development Center.
This resulted in ISU's identification as a national research center for integrated water resources management which is accredited by the Department of Science and Technology as a Niche Center in the Regions for Research and Development or Nicer Project, with its niche discipline on Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM).
SEARCA said some of his research works have been translated into policies and adapted by a local government and other line agencies, specifically those of regional development, river basin management, and disaster risk reduction councils.
Balderama also received numerous distinctions, including the recent 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Philippine Society of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineers. His professor's academic and leadership acumen stimulated an increased community response to some of the prevailing challenges of time, most notably on the varying hydrological phenomena brought about by Climate Change.
A notable academic scientist, Balderama is an agricultural and biosystems engineer by profession and specializes in the field of hydrology, specifically on IWRM, alongside his expertise on river basin, renewable energy, climate change, and disaster risk management.
Gregorio said Balderama will share his work through a public lecture on Enabling Farmers and Local Government Extension Services Address Climate Change Issues using Integrated Crop Modeling Tools and Smart Climate Service as part of the grant.
