DOST tapped to boost agriculture production

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has teamed up with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to deliver organic pesticides from bamboo innovations to raise agricultural production, initially for onions.

The DA, through the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), and the DOST, through the Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI), signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) earlier this month to implement a project titled “Bamboo LIQUOR Ph: Local Innovation for Quality Use of Organic Pesticide Resource in the Philippines.”

The project aims to study the development of organic pesticides to help increase the produce of local onion farmers by eradicating onion armyworm (OAW) and cut-worms in local onion farms.

The BPI said a bamboo pyroligneous liquid (PL) formulation would be developed and validated in the actual farm setting to test its efficacy, commercial potential and applicability in minimizing the harmful effects of the cutworm and OAW in onion farms.

The project, funded by the DOST-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD), strengthens the cooperation and convergence of FPRDI and BPI in bamboo research and development, as well as in high value crops that are also a priority of the government.

Moreover, the partnership is part of ongoing efforts of the government to achieve food security and sustainable agriculture by collaborating with both public and private organizations.

The research project is part of the “Establishment of Philippines-China Joint Program on Bamboo Research” under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between DOST-PCAARRD and Jiangxi Academy of Forestry (JAF) signed in September 2021.

The MOU was a product of the efforts of the DOST and China’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) to collaborate in identifying collaborative activities that will mutually benefit both agencies in bamboo postharvest processing.

Under the agreement, DOST-PCAARRD and JAF agreed to collaborate on establishing the Philippines-China joint laboratory on bamboo; research and technology promotion on advanced processing technology of bamboo resources; demonstration and showcasing of new technologies and products; and academic exchange, technical training, and capacity building services.