"There should be means in which we can really commercialize the results and lessons we have learned from CPAR," Department of Agriculture, DA Chief William Dar/Manong Willie was talking at the 4th National Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CPAR) Congress held end of October 2019 at the BSWM Convention Hall in Diliman, Quezon City. The Congress was organized by the Bureau of Agricultural Research, BAR, and the Southeast Asia Regional Center for Graduate Study & Research in Agriculture, SEARCA. The BAR is under the DA. CPAR is a program that has been pursued by the BAR in the last 20 years, and SEARCA researchers have been studying (a) CPAR's successes, to be used as guides to pursue similar programs elsewhere in the country, and (b) CPAR's failures, to prevent their recurrence. Funded by the BAR, the SEARCA study began December 2018 and will last until May 2020[1].
Commercialize the results – That was the challenge Manong Willie posed at the CPAR Congress. We will have to wait for the SEARCA report for our more enterprising scientists or private entrepreneurs to apply and/or improve on CPAR lessons.
"I am challenging CPAR," Manong Willie said. "Hindi na lang from 7 na naging 70, dapat from 70 magiging 70,000 na magsasaka at mangingisda ang makinabang. Ganoon po ang gusto nating makita," Manong Willie said. Not only 7 becoming 70, it should be 70 becoming 70,000 farmers and fishers benefitting. That is what we want to see."
The numbers count.So, after 20 years, how many farmers and fishers have benefitted from CPAR like Vicente Casas Sr from Zamboanga, a rubber plantation farmer, who has increased his profit margin; Sherlie Suniga from Ilocos Region, who has increased access to better trainings and farm inputs? If you have success, prepare to share them now!
The SEARCA research effort is in support of the BAR to be able to scale up and/or scale out tested technologies and farming practices. The study is for 18 months and is being carried out in field offices of the BAR, Bureau of Fisheries & Aquatic Resources, and the local government units that are implementing partners.
Yes, what they call "Community-Based Participatory Action Research," CPAR, is all new to me, who have been in and out and around as well as a wide reader on the theory and practice of agriculture since 60 years ago when I was freshman at the UP College of Agriculture, now UP Los Baños. So, CPAR implementation in the field has been 20 years, and SEARCA is researching that. Such a study after 2 decades is rather late, but better late than never. Not only farmers but also researchers have to learn what they are doing right, and/or what they are doing wrong.
Even now, it can be asked, echoing the words of Manong Willie:
Will the Theory of Change as applied based on the CPAR findings help PH Agriculture commercialize the technologies & systems tested?
We hope that the answers are in the affirmative!@517
[1]
https://www.searca.org/projects/technical-assistance/building-up-from-the-gains-lessons-from-and-improvements-for-effective-implementation-of-the-community-based-participatory-action-research-cpar-program
https://www.searca.org/projects/technical-assistance/building-up-from-the-gains-lessons-from-and-improvements-for-effective-implementation-of-the-community-based-participatory-action-research-cpar-program
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