Agri-fishery sector benefits from technology transfer
The massive delivery of technologies provided by the Arroyo administration benefited the Agri-fishery sector to where they were most needed.
Mr. Ric Provido, Chairman of the Regional Agri-Fisheries Council (RAFC) said this was made possible through the rationalized approach to agriculture, where the regions were given the freedom to develop and implement the technologies fitted for their own needs.
He cited the experience of the town of Bingawan, dubbed the Rainwater Harvesting Capital of the Philippines, which has 120 Small Impounding Dams which saved it from the onslaught of the El Nino climate disturbance.
Provido said the greenery, vegetation and cooler climate in Bingawan promted the PAGASA and the Bureau of Soils to say that the town has “created its own micro climate.”
The favorable climate enabled the people to get income from diversified sources and also make it a major producer of tilapia, with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) establishing a tilapia hatchery there.
Provido also said that the wide perimeters given to the region to be more creative with agricultural technologies given by the national government under Arroyo’s flagship program FIELDS, initiatives on the ground flourished.
He again cited the efforts of some farmers in creating all-weather farm-to-market roads by innovating distinctive 2-path roads, deviating from the normal standard construction, which were more effective in weather-beaten areas.
In Mambusao, for example, Provido said, farmers innovated a “floating pump” for irrigation which typhoons were not able to destroy because the pumps simply floated when flooding occurred.
He said these are among the innovations which the farmers developed from the various agricultural technology trainings provided under extension and education services by government.
The Department of Agriculture in its report to the President, said the almost 23 technology trainings and orientations benefited some 977,713 farmers, agricultural extension workers and farmer entrepreneurs. (PIA6/ESS)
