Plant industry bureau turns 73, cites successes

The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) has invited Agriculture Secretary to be the guest of honor during its simple 73rd anniversary celebration tomorrow.

BPI director Blo Umpar Adiong cited the agency’s "sincere adherence" to the Department of Agriculture’s guiding policy on job generation, increased income for the farmers and food security.

Adiong said the programs and activities the BPI has implemented and would be pursuing are geared toward "empowering the people with matured technologies so they can increase their income and have more food for their tables."

In the past year, he said the BPI put up the Los Baños National Crop Research and Development Center in coordination with the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center in Taiwan.

He said the center has helped thousands of people in Laguna, Batangas, Quezon, Bulacan and the Bicol region through off-season vegetable production technologies that reduce labor and material costs.

Adiong said vegetable production technologies using shelters, raised beds and mulching as well as planting grafted tomatoes are some of the methods introduced to the farmers.

The Los Baños center also disseminated bio-intensive home gardening in Regions 2, 4 and 5. Technologies like crop rotation, relay cropping, companion planting, use of repellant/attractant crops, use of compose as well as mechanical, biological and botanical control of pests and diseases were also introduced.

These technologies were piloted to some members of the Couples for Christ and now form part of the movement’s national program.

These very same technologies will also be part of the Bantay-Bata project of the ABS-CBN Foundation. The BPI will teach the project’s young wards the basics of gardening for their livelihood and moral recovery program.

More technologies aimed at empowering farmers were also generated and are now showcased at the BPI’s Model Socio Economic Enhancement and Development (SEED) farm.

Started two years ago, the Marawi model SPEED farm now has its own tissue culture laboratory and could very well supply banana seedlings to the two Lanao provinces.

The BPI has set up other SEED farms in Quezon, Batangas, Pangasinan, Negros Occidental, Bukidnon, Davao City, Maguindanao and Basilan.

The BPI is also into conserving and preserving the country’s genetic heritage. Its crop research and development centers in Baguio City; Los Baños, Laguna; La Granja, La Carlota City; Jordan, Guimaras and Davao City have germplasm collections of commodities assigned to them.

Baguio, for instance, has potato, fruits and vegetables; Los Baños and La Granja have cutflowers, fruit trees and vegetables; Gui—maras has mango, and Davao has exotic fruits like banana, rambutan and durian.

The BPI’s Plant Quarantine Service (PQS) was instrumental in the exportation of mangoes to the United States and Australia. Taipei granted market access for Philippine pineapple, while BPI-PQS is still negotiating the entry of mango and banana to that country.

Adiong also cited the bureau’s year-round livelihood training on fruit and vegetable preservation, mushroom culture, herbs, medicinal plants, vegetable and fruit growing, organic farming and crop protection.

This year’s anniversary theme is "BPI: Kabalikat ng Mag—sasakang Pilipino sa Pagharap sa Hamon ng WTO," referring to the bureau’s role in the globalization of Philippine agriculture.