Having been involved in farming systems research and an advocate of Research for Development (R4D), Agriculture Secretary William Dar directed the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) to upscale the results and technologies generated from the 20-year experience of implementing the Community-based Participatory Action Research (CPAR) program.
“Research utilization is important. I know the limits of upscaling but there should be means in which we can really commercialize the results and lessons we have learned from CPAR,” Dar said during the 4th CPAR Congress held on October 28, 2019 at BSWM Convention Hall, Visayas Ave., Quezon City.
The agri chief challenged BAR to elevate how the program is being implemented underscoring the importance of upscaling and commercializing the technologies so that more farming and fishing communities can benefit from the CPAR program.
“Hindi na lang from 7 na naging 70, dapat from 70 magiging 70,000 na magsasaka at mangingisda ang makinabang. Ganoon po kahalaga ang paggamit ng resulta mula sa pananaliksik lalo pa nga at kalahok na sila sa umpisa hanggang sa dulo ng proyekto,” Dar said.
“We are not going to stop CPAR but I am challenging BAR that with the two-decade of implementing the program, dapat ay nandíyan na yung pananaw na baliw na baliw tayo mag-apply at mag-utilize para hindi lamang iilan ang makikinabang kung hindi mas maraming magsasaka at mangingisda sa kanayunan,” Dar added.
Dar connected his instruction to BAR to the “New Thinking” for agriculture that he has set since his assumption to office in August.
“This is the soul of the ‘New Thinking’ framework which is anchored on inclusive agribusiness. Lahat po makikinabang dito sa bagong pananaw na ito sa agrikultura at pagnenegosyo. We hope that this new mindset of DA will be properly implemented focusing not only on production but also to produce more income by value adding, processing, manufacturing, and developing markets for both raw and processed agricultural products,” Dar said.
He concluded that as the agriculture sector becomes crazy over research, we also need to be crazy over the results that these researches produce, ensuring that they are being properly utilized where they are needed that most. ### (Rita dela Cruz, DA-Communications Group)
