The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has discussed partnerships with the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) to accelerate technological innovations to boost farm productivity.
Dr. Remy Bitoun, IRRI tech transfer head, during his visit to SEARCA on Aug. 30, 2022, emphasized the importance of partnerships between IRRI and private sector companies to leverage intellectual property innovations.
Bitoun said he looks forward to collaborating with SEARCA to accelerate technological innovations in particular technology transfer mechanisms.
Citing partnership with SyCip Gorres Velayo & Co. (SGV), SEARCA Director Glenn Gregorio said the center recognizes collaboration with IRRI.
"We recognize this and, in fact, SEARCA, in partnership with SyCip Gorres Velayo & Co. (SGV), was tapped by the Asian Development Bank to craft the National Agriculture and Fishery Modernization and Industrialization Plan (NAFMIP) 2021-2030," he said.
Gregorio said the objective of NAFMIP, a 10-year directional plan of the Department of Agriculture, is to increase productivity and double the livable income of farmers and fisherfolk.
"These can be achieved through farm consolidation, infrastructure development and roadmap development," he added.
Another partnership that Gregorio shared with Bitoun is with a private company driven and owned by international consultants specialized in crop production and crop improvement systems.
He shared that SEARCA is working on Carbon Wise Rice Farming or CWRF in partnership with Newfields Consulting Ltd. to bring the best farming management approaches and technologies on rice and rice-based farming systems.
Assistant Prof. Glenn Baticados, SEARCA's Emerging Innovation for Growth Department program head, discussed knowledge and technology transfer as one of the three components of EIG responsible for the formulation and establishment of intellectual property policies to ensure product and technologies reach farmers and farming families.
Baticados presented the Grants for Research Toward Agricultural Innovative Solution, a SEARCA program that offers short-term starter funds to mobilize actions aimed at transformative agri-innovations for more sustainable agricultural and rural development.
Gregorio said through EIG, SEARCA aims to provide wider access to innovative products and services, and business models for increased productivity and income of farmers and farming families.
EIG is a flagship program under SEARCA's 11th Five-Year Plan focused on Accelerating Transformation Through Agricultural Innovation, also called Attain.