S &T interventions pushed to empower farmers

   STCBF showcases the effectiveness of S &T interventions to empower farmers by improving their productivity.

   Dr. Melvin Carlos, PCAARRD Technology Transfer Promotion Division Director, said they first implemented Science and Technology Based Farm (STBF) in the country and with its success, upgraded into STCBF with more farmers benefitting.

   In STBF, only one scientist-farmer is involved in the project.

   Carlos said they have already implemented 485 STBFs since 2008 with different commodities, all of which are almost completed.

   He added meanwhile, they already have 31 ongoing STCBFs all over the country since last year and still have many STCBF proposals for approval.

   Carlos said commodities in the ongoing STCBF projects include mango, carrot, and other kinds of vegetables, root crops like camote, cassava, and gabi, coffee, langka, coconut, cacao, carabao’s milk, goat, bamboo, rubber, banana, tilapia, ulang, tilapia, seaweed, rice , and rice seed production.

   He said  their ongoing STCBFs in Central Luzon are 3 diary buffalo projects with the Philippine Carabao Center in Nueva Ecija; onion in tie up with Central Luzon State University; tilapia with Bulacan Agricultural State College; banana with Aurora State College of Technology; camote with Tarlac College of Agriculture (TCA); vegetables also with TCA; 3 bamboo projects with Pampanga Agricultural College and  Environment Research and Development Bureau; mango with Bataan Peninsula State University (BPSU); and goat project.

   STBF was implemented in Bataan with a mango farm in the upland area in this City owned by farmer- scientist Edgardo Abella. 

   Following its success, the STCBF with 15 mango farmers here started implementation last year funded by PCAARRD.

   BPSU is implementing the STCBF here with BPSU Abucay Campus Chairman of extension services, Dr. Hermogenes Paguia as the project leader.

   Carlos and his staff were recently in this City for the monitoring of the PCAARRD project.