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Pathways to the Transformation of the Philippine Food System

Eufemio Jr. T. Rasco — 2023-11-24

Acd. Eufemio T. Rasco Jr. is an academician of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) of the DOST and Professor Emeritus of UP Mindanao. Prior to joining UP Mindanao, Dr. Rasco served as a faculty member and an official of UP Los Baños and as a scientist in agricultural organizations. Prof. Rasco’s research and advocacies were plant breeding, genetically modified crops, underutilized bioresources, sustainable modern agriculture, and rural transformation through science-based support system for rice farmers, just to name a few. He is the author of The Unfolding Gene Revolution: Ideology, Science, and Regulation of Plant Biotechnology, which won the NAST Most Outstanding Book Award in 2008, and The Nypa Palm: Nature's Gift from the Age of the Dinosaurs, published in 2011. Some of the awards conferred to Dr. Rasco are the following: Outstanding Senior Staff from the UPLB Institute of Plant Breeding in 1982, 1983, 1985, and 1990; UPLB Outstanding Alumnus for Vegetable Breeding in 1986; Achievement Award for Agriculture from the Camarines Norte Association in 1987; Bicol Exemplar Award from DOST in 1989; Outstanding Senior Faculty from the UP Mindanao Foundation Inc. in 2009; and the Outstanding Alumnus Award conferred by the UP Alumni Association in 2009.

Where Are We in the Innovation Pathway Towards Agri 4.0?

Larry N. Digal — 2023-11-24

Prof. Larry N. Digal, PhD, is a professor of agricultural and applied economics, School of Management, and the former chancellor of the University of the Philippines Mindanao. He finished his PhD and MS in Agricultural Economics at the University of Sydney in Australia and Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana, USA, respectively. He finished his undergraduate degree in the same field at the University of the Philippines Los Baños cum laude and received the Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Society of Agriculture Gold Medal Award for Academic Excellence and the Joan Gonzales Gold Medal also for Academic Excellence. He excelled in his area of specialization particularly in the “economics of sustainable agricultural value chains.” In this area, he developed, led many research projects and programs, developed research networks in UP Mindanao with links to international partners, mentored junior researchers, developed and led interdisciplinary research groups, led conferences and published extensively. His research interests also include industrial organization of agricultural markets, market power, and policy.

The Impact of Conflict to the Sustainability and Resilience Capacity of Local Food Systems

Emma Ruth V. Bayogan — 2023-11-24

Prof. Emma Ruth V. Bayogan, PhD, retired this year but continues to work as an adjunct professor at the Department of Biological Sciences and Environmental Studies, University of the Philippines Mindanao. Her research works are focused on postharvest biology and technology, horticulture, sustainable agriculture, and seed technology coupled with extension activities. She is the current President of the PhilFruits Association. Through Dr. Bayogan’s leadership, the Postharvest Laboratory was established in UP Mindanao and their laboratory regularly coordinated trainings for postharvest handling technologies. Dr. Bayogan served as the Program Leader of the DOST PCAARRD-funded research program “Enhancing Livelihood Opportunities in ConflictVulnerable Areas in Mindanao through the LIFE (Livelihood Improvement through Facilitated Extension) Model” from 2017 to 2021 (LIFE UP Mindanao), which aimed to improve farmers’ livelihood and quality of life through facilitated extension. The program’s paper “Giving Farmers uwen fananafedew: Improving Agricultural Extension in Conflict-Vulnerable Areas through the Livelihood Improvement through Facilitated Extension (LIFE) Model” won Best Development Paper in 2020 during the SMAARRDEC’s Regional Symposium on Research Development and Extension Highlights and in 2021 as representative of Region XI for the National Symposium on Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of PCAARRD.

Transforming Agriculture though Adoption of Climate Resilient Practices

Moises Neil V. Seriño — 2023-11-24

Prof. Moises Neil V. Seriño, PhD, is a professor of the Department of Economics, College of Management and Economics, Visayas State University (VSU), Visca, Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines. He is the recipient of the 2023 Outstanding Young Scientist Award given by the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) Philippines for his substantial contribution in socioeconomics and development in the Visayas. He finished BS in Statistics in 2005 from Leyte State University, Philippines. He earned his master's degree in International Development Program (IDP) (economics) at the International University of Japan in 2009. He pursued doctorate degree in Economics at the University of Göttingen, Germany in 2014. He was a visiting research fellow at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Japan in 2019. He was a John Dillon Fellow - Philippines (2021) of the Australian Center for International and Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Australia and recipient of the USDA Scientific Exchange Fellow (2023) at Louisiana State University, USA. He is currently the Dean of the College of Management and Economics, Visayas State University (2020 - present) and concurrent director of the Visayas Socio-Economic Research and Data Analytics Center (ViSERDAC) (2020 - present). He was elected board member of the Philippine Agriculture and Economic Development Association (PAEDA) in 2021 and served as the convenor of the Australia Alumni Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Community of Practice (AANCoP) in 2022.

Promoting Multi-functionality of Rural Landscape: The Need for a Landscape Approach

Rachmat Mulia — 2023-11-29

Dr. Rachmat Mulia is an ecological modeler that also has agriculture and forestry statistics as a background. He has more than 10 years of experience linking the development of sustainable agriculture such as agroforestry and sustainable forestry practices, both at farm and landscape scale, with rural food security, farmer’s resilience to climate change, and environmental services to include carbon and water services, and biodiversity. Thanks to different projects that he has led or has been participating in, he also has experience in developing green growth orientation and measures at a provincial scale, especially those related to the agriculture and forestry sector, and assess the impact of the measures on the provincial economy and ecosystem services. In addition, he has also been involved in projects and studies related to rural development, especially on the potential role of livelihood diversification to enhance rural household’s income and resilience to both economic and environmental shocks.

Abstracts from the Mindanao Symposium on the Future of Agrifood Systems

Office of Research — 2024-01-10