The Department of Agriculture- Fisheries Biotechnology Center (DA-FBC) led the biotech centers’ planning and complementation meeting for FY 2024 with the Department of Agriculture -Biotech Program Office (DA-BPO), Department of Agriculture- Livestock Biotechnology Center (DA-LBC), and Department of Agriculture-Crop Biotechnology Center (DA-CBC) on March 5-8, 2024 in Iloilo City.

Present during the meeting are the DA-BPO team led by their director, Dr. Paul C. Limson; center chief of the DA-CBC, Dr. Roel Suralta; center chief of the DA-FBC, Dr. Casiano H. Choresca, Jr.; and the staff from the three biotech centers. The highlights of the meeting are the presentation of the pipelined project proposals to be funded by the DA-BPO, complementation of the biotech centers’ calendar of activities and the harmonization of the Manual of Operations (MOO) of the centers. The discussion was directed by Ms. Azalea Combatir, Project Technical Specialist from the DA-FBC and supplemented by the other centers’ inputs. To guide the biotech centers’ meeting, Dr. Claro N. Mingala, DA-BPO’s former director, was invited and shared his expertise during the discussion.

As part of the activity, the DA-BPO and the biotech centers were accompanied by the DA-FBC to the ocular visits on the sites of the DA-BPO and Department of Agriculture – National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (DA-NFRDI) funded projects. One of the projects is the “Promotion of Breeding and farming technologies of commercially important freshwater fishes for increased aquaculture production” situated within the Guimaras National Crop Research Development and Production Support Center in San Miguel, Guimaras. The project focuses on the breeding of tilapia, mudfish, and catfish, and production of fingerlings for distribution among its incubatees.

Also, the team visited the Seaweed Culture Laboratory (SCL) in Brgy. Cabalagnan, Nueva Valencia, Guimaras. The project in the area is the “Upscaling of Seaweed Culture to Increase Capacity and the Volume of the Seaweed Production in Western Visayas” and one of the projects under the Fisheries Biotechnology R4D: Hatchery Production (HatchPro) Program of the DA-NFRDI, the host agency of the DA-FBC. The project aims to promote seaweed culture technology and increase production of good quality seaweed propagules through rehabilitation of Seaweed Culture Laboratory facilities and upscaling of its capacity to produce seaweed propagules for the benefit of the seaweed farmers in western Visayas.