A UPLB research paper entitled “Performance of Anaerobic Digesters in Small to Medium Scale Swine Farms in Calumpang River Watershed, Batangas,Philippines” won the Best Research Paper during the National Symposium on Agriculture and Resources Research and Development (NSARRD) on Nov. 10 at the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resources Research and Development-Department of Science and Technology (PCARRD) in Los Baños, Laguna.

Dr. Christian Joseph R. Cumagun, associate professor at the Crop Protection Cluster of the College of Agriculture, was selected as one of the five young affiliates of The Academy of
Sciences in the Developing World (TWAS) from the East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific for 2009-2013.

The award will provide Dr. Cumagun, now on his postdoctoral in Japan, the privilege to attend the TWAS general and regional conferences abroad during the five-year period. The TWAS made the official announcement during the Academy’s 11th General Conference and 20th General Meeting in Durban, South Africa, on Oct. 19.

Four Filipino civil society organizations were among 25 awardees who received a total of $4.8 million in the ninth annual Global Development Marketplace, a competitive grant program for innovation in development in Washington. More than 1,700 entries vied for 25 grants of up to $200,000 each.

One hundred finalists from 47 countries were invited to the World Bank’s headquarters in Washington DC, to present their ideas on the theme, “100 Ideas to Save the Planet.” Of the 100 finalists, eight were from the Philippines.

“We are happy to note that eight out of the 100 finalists are from the Philippines and four of them won the grant competition. This goes to show just how creative Filipinos are in designing innovative solutions to development challenges. We need fresh and innovative ideas in dealing with climate change issues,” said Maryse Gautier, World Bank Acting Country Director.

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan, Nov. 13 (PNA) — The provincial government distributed to local farmers bio-organic fertilizers which it developed using chicken manure sourced out from the poultry farm of Governor Amado Espino Jr. in Barangay Portic, Bugallon.

The inputs were developed in Espino’s farm where the provincial government set up a modest processing plant to readily convert chicken manure into cheap but effective bio-organic fertilizer.

The processing plant adopted the bio-technology perfected by the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB).