C. Visayas research consortium wraps 

up Bohol exhibit on agri-tech adoption

Rey Anthony Chiu 

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA) — A regional consortium of 24 institutions on March 24 terminated its three-day exhibit showcasing locally developed agricultural technologies and food products, as it pushed for wider adoption of research-based innovations among farmers and fisherfolk in Central Visayas.

The Central Visayas Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development Consortium (CVAARRDEC) held its BIDA ASENSO exhibit from March 23 to 25 at Island City Mall in Tagbilaran City.

The event featured machinery, smart farming applications, newly developed food products, and post-harvest technologies for agriculture and aquaculture.

BIDA ASENSO stands for Bridging Innovations and Development of Agri-Aqua Natural Resources Advancing Science, Technology, and Enterprises for Sustainable Opportunities.

This year’s theme was “Research with Impact, Bridging Innovation, Community and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources.”

“We promote new products which are innovations through research and development from our consortium member institutions — from the academe, the Department of Agriculture, and other agencies that produce research-based products,” said CVAARRDEC technology transfer coordinator Margie Avenido.

The exhibit highlighted 12 of the region’s innovative products and machinery, with contributions from the DA-Agricultural Promotions Center, Palayamanan associations, the Philippine Carabao Center, Cebu Normal University, Green Gardens of Hope, Crabtastic, Negros Oriental State University, and Bohol Island State University.

Activities included technology pitching, farmers’ success stories, a product launch, and a series of science communication contests covering reels, event video highlights, Facebook posting, feature writing, information and education materials production, video testimonials, and vlogging — all centered on farmers, products, and agricultural innovations.

CVAARRDEC science communication coordinator Beverly Derita said research must be grounded in problems identified at the community level.

“What is important is for our researchers to go down to the grassroots, to the farmers and fisherfolk, to discover the problem where research could provide the solutions — and at the same time, farmers should be cooperative and collaborative,” Derita said.

She stressed that research without adopters loses its value, underscoring the exhibit’s role in closing the gap between innovation and practice.

CVAARRDEC is a member of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

The consortium helps member institutions develop research proposals submitted to DOST for possible funding, covering agriculture, fisheries, aquatic resources, forestry, and the environment.

“We have the same goals to develop our agriculture sector, so we hope our farmers will adopt the existing technologies which our institutions have innovated — and that is why we are here,” Derita said. (RAHC/PIA Bohol)

Members of the Bohol Palayamanan Farmers Federation display locally produced farm products and Palayamanan farming technologies at their booth during the BIDA ASENSO exhibit at Island City Mall in Tagbilaran City. The three-day event, organized by the Central Visayas Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development Consortium, ran March 23 to 25. (Photo courtesy of Bohol Palayamanan Farmers Federation/ Facebook)

DAR opens college scholarship

For next gen ‘farm managers’

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA)— Helping spread the broad spectrum of the government’s flagship social justice program, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) now opens its support services to scholarship program for children and relatives of its Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs).

Seeing sustainability and continuity of the farming communities as well as helping the ARBS position themselves in a better perch to improve their lot, DAR will now provide free college education for deserving next generation children of ARBs who are taking up agriculture and its related courses, revealed Bohol DAR Agrarian Reform Program Officer Leah Kyra Cirunay.

Billed as DAR Scholarship Program for Dependents of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (DSP-DARBs), the free ride through college is open to legitimate dependents of ARBs who are senior high schools who have a standing general weighted average grade of 83, of good health and character, no criminal conviction and does not have any other scholarships, and finally, has to pass the college entrance examination for the school one would enrol, Cirunay said.

Set to be heirs of the lands that their parents worked on, offering free college education through scholarships help assure motivation to bring young blood to farming, a generation armed with the science and technology of farming and agricultural production against the present restricted harvests due to the vestiges of traditional farming.

Speaking at the Kapihan sa PIA, Cirunay said the scholarship, affords a student some P3,000 in monthly stipend, P10,000 school fees (to be paid directly to the school), P2,000 book allowance per semester, transportation and lodging allowances, P5,000 graduation fee allowance, P10,000 thesis allowance and some P5,000 in summer allowances.

But in the advent of government scholarships not really being treated seriously by beneficiaries, the (DSP-DARBs) makes sure that beneficiaries maintain a 2.5 GWA per semester or has to pass all subjects with satisfactory scholastic grades, completes the course within the given time and complies with the laws, otherwise he could be stripped of the scholarship.

Graduates who benefitted from the scholarship are mandated to a lock-in service policy for a year in the local DAR office.

For the documentary requirements, applicants must submit a completely filled scholarship application form with a certification for DAR that the candidate for scholarship is qualified.

Applicants also need to submit an authenticated birth certificate, a health certificate issued by a government physician, a barangay clearance from barangay of origin, Form 137-A or report card, certificate of good moral character from the high school principal, a copy of the certificate of income tax return showing family income or certificate of indigency issued by the appropriate government agency and a statement of commitment by the candidate, according to the DAR official.

Deadline for the filing of application for the 2026-2027 school year is March 18, 2026, Cirunay said. (PIABohol)

BRINGING EDUCATION, TECH TO FARMS. With farmers getting older and younger generations shying away from farming, DAR brings in a motivation for students intending to get a college free ride with DSP DARBS, ARPO Leah Kyra Cirunay said, at the Kapihan sa PIA.