Author: Zadieshar Sanchez

The DA-Philippine Carabao Center continues to uphold its employees’ well-being by launching the Mental Health Wellness Program last May 12 alongside Physical Health Fitness and Sports Programs under the leadership of the Human Resource Management Section and the Management Systems Audit Office.

The mental health wellness program specifically aims to provide a safe space for those who may be experiencing mental and emotional stress or anxieties and establish a support system in the spirit of carrying each other’s burdens. Furthermore, this program is expected to help break the stigma attached to acknowledging and taking care of one’s mental health.

Scheduled every Tuesday, mental health activities were conducted since May 17 and were attended by employees from different sections.

“Isa sa mga malalaking tulong ng programang ito sa akin personally ay ‘yung malaman ko na sa mga nararanasan ko, generally in life and particularly in the workplace, ay hindi naman pala ako nag-iisa. Dahil dito, nagkakaroon ako ng pag-asa sa anumang sitwasyon na kinakaharap ko dahil nagkakaroon ako ng mga bagong perspective. More than these, ay nagkakaroon pa ako ng pagkakataon na makatulong din sa iba by encouraging them” said Pauline A. Maramag, staff under RDD – Business Development and Commercialization Unit when asked how the program is helping her so far.

Reynaldo E. Bauzon, program chairperson, further stressed that mental health should not be taken lightly and invited all DA-PCC employees to join the activity every Tuesday, 4:00-5:00 pm at the PCC Mini Theatre.

In line with the Department of Agriculture’s (DA’s) thrust to modernize the agri-fishery sector, the DA-Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) recently improved its two database management systems (DMS) for digitalizing carapreneurship and cascaded it to clients and carabao-based and enterprise development (CBED) coordinators last May 31-June 2 at the Richmonde Hotel in Iloilo.

Its enhanced DMS are intensified research-based enterprise build-up (iREB) 2.0 and major final output (MFO) dashboard version 3.

DA-PCC’s Planning and Information Management Officer-in-Charge Alvin David said that the enhancement of the two DMS was the output of the Database Management Enhancement System Project of DA-PCC, as funded by the DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research.

“The iREB2.0 is a tool to measure the profitability and productivity of the carabao-based enterprise (CBE) at the client or community level of DA-PCC nationwide, while the MFO dashboard is a tool to measure the output of the DA-PCC as an agency,” David explained.

He added that the system is a good tool for information generation, especially when creating important business decisions and planning for the agency’s targets.

Business Development Commercialization Unit Head Zadieshar Sanchez said that the improved version of iREB1.0 was developed by the DA-PCC following its initiative to give value for money to all its research-based enterprises.

In her opening remarks, DA Assistant Secretary for Planning and Regulations Dr. Liza Battad said that the iREB 2.0 corroborates the programs of DA-PCC in CBE. She also added that the said system is a good tool for showcasing how competitive the CBEs of DA-PCC’s clients are.

DA-PCC’s Science Research Analyst Pauline Maramag and Project Evaluation Officer Catherine Alyssa Licudo, meanwhile, shared the improved features in the iREB 2.0 and MFO dashboard version 3.

“Our iREB1.0 has several limitations in terms of usage. But with the improved version or the iREB2.0, we resolved these issues and even improved its database user requirements, graphic user interface, farmer cooperative accounts, and loading time rate,” she explained.

She added that encoding is simplified in the iREB2.0 since a user no longer needs to encode everything in the DMS and that it now contains a data privacy feature where the user is given the rights of privacy and security on his/her account.

“The DA-PCC’s MFO Dashboard version 3 system improved in terms of adding some important functionalities and modifications,” Licudo said.

Such were the creation of a computation tab, modification regarding the showing of the status of submission of performance commitment reviews (PCRs), adding of exporting functions and other administrative functions,” Licudo further explained.

Hands-on sessions were also conducted for the participants to appreciate and get familiar with the two DMS. They were also given the opportunity to present their experience of using the said systems.

“Through the iREB2.0, we can now easily assess the performance of our farmer-members since we can easily check based on their profile and data the areas where we can provide them immediate help in case they need it,” Bohol Dairy Cooperative General Manager Herbert Joseph Tan Puracan said.

He added that the system is very helpful for their cooperative and he thanked the DA-PCC for doing such a great job in improving the iREB.

Baclay Multipurpose Cooperative General Manager Richard Hidalgo, another participant, happily shared that through the iREB2.0, they can now monitor and check if their business is profitable with just one click from their computers.

Meanwhile, Maramag also shared other plans related to the iREB2.0.

“In the future, the iREB2.0 will have a mobile app version, which can be used offline for data gathering purposes and report-generating abilities. Clients will also be given an overall guideline or manual on how to use the system and how often they should encode data to the DMS,” she added. The same cascading workshop will be conducted by DA-PCC in Tagaytay for its clients and CBED coordinators in Luzon come first week of July 2022.

Employees of the DA-Philippine Carabao Center (DA-PCC) buckle down to stay fit and healthy by actively participating in the agency’s Virtual Walkathon Challenge and Jump for Health physical fitness activities.

The DA-PCC, through its Management Systems Audit Office (MSAO) and Physical Health and Mental Wellness Program Committees, organized such activities to create a healthier workforce, increase productivity, and decrease employees’ risk of developing chronic diseases.

The Virtual Walkathon Challenge, which started on June 1, gives the participants 90 days to complete the 50km challenge using a pedometer or step counter app. Prizes will be awarded to those who finish first and walk the longest. “Suportahan po natin ang ating programa para sa kalusugan ng bawa’t isa. Health is wealth,” encouraged DA-PCC OIC Executive Director Dr. Ronnie Domingo, who also took part in the activity by uploading a screenshot of his walk to the Balik Sigla Program Facebook group of the agency.

The Jump for Health, which started its first session today, is an exercise that uses a jump rope to help lose weight and improve one’s cardiorespiratory fitness. Participating PCCeans’ body weight, height, and waist circumference measurements were taken and recorded prior to the program to determine improvements after six months. This activity is scheduled every Thursday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Apart from the physical health fitness program, the committee also offers mental health wellness activities every Tuesday from 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

“The overall program created an opportunity for us to realize that focusing on our health, along with our work, is actually possible. We can really do both things,” Nomilyn Gonzales, one of the PCCeans, asserted.

“Nakita mi ti kinapintas na!”

This Ilocano phrase, which means, “Nakita namin kung gaano kaganda!” was how farmers in the recent Cara-Ugnayan regarded the Carabao Development Program (CDP) of the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Carabao Center (DA-PCC) of which they are active participants.

Cara-Ugnayan is a knowledge management platform of the DA-PCC’s Knowledge Management Division (KMD) that aims to strengthen the agency’s reportage by engaging with the local media and LGU-SUC partners.

“We see a very important role that the local media takes on when it comes to not only disseminating information that could benefit a multitude more of our farming communities but also helping our progressive farmers tell their stories of success,” Dr. Eric Palacpac, KMD Chief, said.

The identified farmer representatives were Rolly Mateo, chairperson of the Bantog Samahang Nayon Multi-Purpose Cooperative; Annalyn Tade, manager of the Rosario Dairy Farmers Cooperative; and Freddie Ledda, vice-president of the Team Naguilian Dairy Raisers Association.

Mateo shared how the dairy enterprise multiplied their co-op’s capital from 10,000 to a million pesos. BSNMPC is actively engaged in sustainable enterprise with its participation in the milk feeding program led by the Department of Education. Similarly, Tade said that the income generated by their cooperative’s dairy business enabled them to purchase a site to expand their operation. The same story applies to Ledda, who attested to his family’s increased income after they began dairying.

On the LGU counterpart, Ramsey Mangaoang, a former sangguniang bayan member and chair of the Committee on Agriculture in Aringay, La Union, expressed his appreciation for the DA-PCC’s carabao program and mentioned that it is an important component of the municipality’s development agenda. He said that there is a need for alternative livelihoods for farmers in the locality and the carabao enterprise is one of them. With this, Mangaoang hopes to intensify a provincial ordinance that will replicate the carabao enterprise in the province.

During the media forum, some of the questions and topics discussed were the bull entrustment program, milk feeding program, and PLGU and LGU’s support programs for carabao development, among others.

The Cara-Ugnayan is slated to be continued in the other regional centers in Visayas and Mindanao in the second semester of this year.

One hundred twenty champion-partners in the carabao development program (CDP) implementation were honored during the “Pistang Parangal sa mga Kaagapay na Magkakalabaw sa Nueva Ecija” in celebration of the National Farmers’ and Fisherfolk’s Month on May 16.

This year’s celebration is anchored on the theme “Buwan ng Magsasaka at Mangingisda 2022: Modernisasyon at Industriyalisasyon Tungo sa Masaganang Ani at Mataas na Kita.”

During a program organized by the Knowledge Management Division-Learning Events Coordination Section in collaboration with the DA-Philippine Carabao Center at Central Luzon State University (DA-PCC at CLSU), partner-carapreneurs who are members of dairy cooperatives and associations, private farm owners, and family module beneficiaries received plaques of recognition from the DA-PCC for their resolute hard work and dedication in helping advance the growth of the carabao dairy industry in the countryside.

They were also recognized for their strong partnership with DA-PCC in achieving the goals of the agricultural sector, especially in improving the economic and social well-being of farming families and ensuring food security even during a pandemic.

DA-PCC OIC Executive Director Dr. Ronnie Domingo urged the farmer-carapreneurs to scale up their production and upgrade their products’ quality in order to be more competitive in the market domestically and even internationally. He went on to say that success should be about getting better every day.

“The DA-PCC will rally behind you in your modernization and industrialization efforts,” he assured.

Dr. Domingo presented the highlights of accomplishments of the Ahon Lahat, Pagkaing Sapat Kontra COVID-19 (ALPAS COVID-19) project of the agency, which was launched during the National Farmers’ and Fisherfolk’s Month in 2020.

The DA-PCC implemented this in four project components: Creating Opportunities Through Value Innovations and Development (COVID), Unlad Lahi Project (ULaP), Gatas, Isda, Gulay, at Karne (GIGK), and Cara-Aralan with a total of 38,684 beneficiaries.

Specifically, there were 9,795 beneficiaries provided with carabaos, incentives, technical and veterinary services, a crop-forage integrated system, technical, mechanization, and market support for food and feed production under ULaP.

In GIGK, a total of 28,357 beneficiaries received clustered vegetable and livestock forage production and market assistance, logistical support, or farm mechanization assistance; while 100 beneficiaries received up-scaled technologies, innovations in food production, processing, and value-adding in the COVID project component.

Under the Cara-Aralan project component, there were 432 beneficiaries provided with e-learning or webinars focused on farm solutions, learning modules in AVPs, digitized IEC and training materials, multimedia promotions, and communication support services.

Meanwhile, farmer representatives gave their respective testimonies on how the DA-PCC’s program helped them improve their way of life.

Catalanacan Multi-Purpose Cooperative chairperson Ferdinand Cueva shared how the income from the dairy enterprise enabled their cooperative to become entirely debt-free; Rosalie Mendoza of the Isla Buliran Farmers Association thanked the DA-PCC for providing technical assistance and enriching their knowledge in dairy buffalo production; private farm owner Ernesto Padolina, who currently owns 100 dairy carabaos, expressed his gratitude to DA-PCC for convincing him to venture into carabao dairying, which eventually provides him sustainable income; and family module beneficiary Apolonio Serrano proudly narrated how his three children were able to graduate from college with the income he earned from raising dairy carabaos.

In 1989, the month of May was declared as Farmers’ and Fisherfolks’ Month under Presidential Proclamation No. 33.

The DA-PCC through its regional center hosted by the Visayas State University (VSU) conducted a Facilitators’ Learning Workshop on Farmers Livestock School on Dairy Buffalo Production (FLS-DBP) from April 25 to May 6, 2022 at the VSU, Baybay City, Leyte. It was the first time that such activity was conducted outside the DA-PCC national headquarters.

Thirty-one participants from different municipalities of Eastern Visayas consisting of partners from the Coconut-Carabao Development Project (CCDP) farmer-beneficiaries, Local Government Unit (LGU) technicians from Northern Samar, Leyte, Samar, Southern Leyte, and Biliran, and some DA-PCC at VSU staff members attended the learning workshop.

The FLS-DBP is an innovative approach that is anchored on participatory and adult learning methods and principles. The 15-day intensive activity aimed to equip participants with the necessary skills and competence in implementing the FLS-DBP in their respective localities, making them effective facilitators of learning for other farmers after the season-long learning experience.

Aside from the lecture sessions, the training course included experiential learning processes through exercises, games, fieldworks and case analysis.

Courses discussed throughout the training were focused on mobilizing communities for FLS-DBP, raising healthy and productive dairy buffalo, building enterprises from buffalo, participatory technology development, and participatory tools to measure the FLS-DBP effects and its impact. The DA-PCC’s Knowledge Management Division (KMD) headed by Dr. Eric Palacpac, together with module developers from the national headquarters facilitated the said learning activity.

Resource persons included Director Francisco G. Gabunada Jr. of DA-PCC at VSU and module developers from the national headquarters (Dr. Palacpac, Ms. Rovelyn T. Jacang, Dr. Phoebe Lyndia Llantada, Dr. Cyril P. Baltazar, Dr. Ester B. Flores, Dr. Peregrino G. Duran, Dr. Renelyn M. Labindao, Ms. Mina P. Abella, Ms Patrizia Camille Saturno, Ms. Teresita Baltazar, former DA-PCC R&D Division Chief Dr. Annabelle S. Sarabia, and former KMD staff Mr. Erwin M. Valiente).During the culminating ceremony, Dr. Caro B. Salces, DA-PCC’s Deputy Executive Director for Administration and Finance, gave his inspirational message by sharing success stories of previous FLS-DBP graduates who ventured into the dairy buffalo business particularly in supplying the milk for the milk feeding program.

The participants expressed their gratitude, as they gained knowledge about dairy buffalo production, business aspects, and technology transfer. It gave them an opportunity to disseminate their knowledge to farmer-beneficiaries of the CCDP Project. Further, they presented their re-entry plans for the implementation of a full-scale FLS-DBP in their respective localities.

Thirty personnel of the DA-Philippine Carabao Center (DA-PCC) have been designated as the agency’s official first aiders should emergencies arise after completing the four-day training course on basic life support and standard first aid on May 2-5.

Through its Management Systems Audit Office, the DA-PCC organized the said activity in compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Management System’s rule on the required training for the agency’s first aiders and health personnel.

The DA-PCC tapped the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Nueva Ecija Chapter to conduct the training wherein the participants acquired several life-saving skills. They were trained in first aid basics, particularly on how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with an automated external defibrillator (AED).

Aside from a series of lectures and discussions, the participants also underwent practical exercises on effective emergency procedures such as the safest first aid methods of moving and lifting a patient, bandaging and splinting, and immobilization, among others.

Rey Lovell Sabado and Jean Pascual of the PRC served as safety service instructors during the training. They emphasized the importance of having the ability to act in an emergency and save a life because “minutes matter.”

Ismael Gajonera, DA-PCC administrative assistant and one of the participants, said he was grateful to the management for giving him the chance to learn how to deal with emergencies with confidence and be able to give life-saving care when it’s needed most.

After the training and evaluation, the PRC will issue valid ID cards and certificates of competence to the participants.

The DA-Philippine Carabao Center (DA-PCC) conducted a virtual Policy Formulation training workshop for its assisted cooperatives on April 26-27.

Said activity aims to enhance and enrich the knowledge of cooperative managers and boards of directors on policy formulation and implementation.

Atty. Roney Jone Gandeza, a law professor at the University of Cordilleras, provided insights on effective policy writing during the two-day activity.

He emphasized three crucial aspects of policymaking—the policy must be: (1) known and understood by all those affected; (2)realistic; (3) and consistent.

“It’s sad that some of our co-op leaders tend to replicate the writings of a lawyer,” Atty. Gandeza said, which encouraged the participants to re-evaluate and calibrate their current Constitution and By-laws (CBL).

“To be honest, we were clueless in developing our policy, but the discussion enlightened us,” Mercy, a co-op member participant, stated. 

Moreover, the participants were able to practice the lessons they had learned from the training by drafting a policy regarding habitual tardiness during the workshop. 

“This training magnified the reality that our co-op really needs a generic template in making a policy,” Estella Valiente, Socio-Economics and Policy Section head, said during her closing remarks.

The DA-PCC at Visayas State University (DA-PCC at VSU) is soon to lead the establishment of a milk processing and marketing facility in support of the Coconut-Carabao Development Project (CCDP) in Visayas.

Groundworks to realize this cause was discussed during the visit of the DA-PCC national headquarters team led by Deputy Executive Director for Production and Research Dr. Claro N. Mingala with Research and Development Division Chief Dr. Marvin A. Villanueva to Kangara Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Carigara, Leyte last April 21.

A memorandum of agreement will be signed between the DA-PCC at VSU and the cooperative represented by co-op Chairperson Herminia Carolino, General Manager Dominador Sudario, and DA-PCC at VSU staff Dr. Ivy Fe Lopez. After the turnover of the facilities, the cooperative will be in charge of the implementation of the project.

The project, a partnership between the DA-PCC and the DA-Philippine Coconut Authority, aims to contribute milk supply to the Milk Feeding Program implemented under Republic Act No. 11037 otherwise known as “Masustansyang Pagkain para sa Batang Pilipino.” This means livelihood opportunities will abound benefitting the co-op members of the cooperatives, partnership between the co-op and the DA-PCC will be strengthened, and the benefits of carapreneurship as an additional profitable business venture will be promoted in the locality.

During the visit, Dr. Mingala and the team also met with DA-PCC at VSU Center Director Francisco Gabunada to discuss collaboration on research, extension, and instruction, and in other areas or disciplines where the use of different commodities and resources of several funding agencies may be beneficial. VSU College of Veterinary Science and Medicine Dean Dr. Santiago Peña Jr., Department of Animal Science Head Dr. Manuel Gacutan Jr., and College of Agriculture staff joined the exploratory meeting.

VSU Vice President for Research, Extension and Innovation Dr. Maria Juliet Ceniza welcomed the party prior to their tour of the university.