Vegetable, Rice & Corn Fest ’09 opens at NVSU
With the theme “Gulay na Masustansya at Abot Kaya o GMA para sa Masang Pilipino,” the Vegetable, Rice and Corn Festival came into fruition on February 4-5, 2009 at the Nueva Vizcaya State University (NVSU) Central Experimental Station.
Enriching the opening of the two-day program, Dr. Rafael Espino, representative of the Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Arthur Yap, shed light on the gains of the participants in the Festival, as it answers the informational needs of farmers and other sectors of the community about High Value Vegetable Crops (HVVC).
Shortly after the program, the NVU President, Dr. Marilou S. Gilo-Abon, together with guests from participating institutions, headed the cutting of ribbons to unveil the crops in the NVSU-Field Technology Demonstration Area. The zone boasted of four HVVC plots, each measuring more or less 1,200 square meters, and rice crop plots extending to around 2, 500 square meters.
The winning entry for the Edible Lanscaping Contest, one of the contested events during the Vegetable Corn & Rice Festival proudly hails from the Municipality of Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya.
The day culminated in a technical forum or symposium, where breakthroughs in HVVC in the country were lectured by representatives of the DA Region 02 at the Mini-theater, Library Complex. Members from different seed companies, business groups, and agricultural agencies in the country graced the said gathering.
For the stretch of the festival, participants were able to visit booths and stalls showcasing fruit and vegetable seeds and crops, farming related technologies, and entries to the Edible Landscaping Contest and the Vegetable Recipe Contest. The winners in the contested events came from different sectors of the community all over Nueva Vizcaya and were declared in the closing program.
The first prize winner for the Vegetable Recipe Contest, Ms. Dorabel De Leon( fourth from left), NVSU student, poses with the event’s judges. Celebrating with them are the Director for NVSU-R&D, Dr. Reynald delos Trinos(second from left), and the Dean of the College of Human Ecology, Dr. Perlita Tiburcio (rightmost).
Indispensable to the conduct of the activity were the lecturers from the DA R02, headed by the GMA HVVC Program Regional Cordinator, Mr. Robert Olinares, National President of the Philippine Seed Industry Association (PSIA), Dr. Rowena Bienes, PSIA Executive Director, Mr. Renato Mabesa, BPI Director (Malate), Dr. Joel Rudinas, BPI Director (CAR), Dr. Jesus Aspuria, PCARRD Crops Research& Development Chief, Dr. Jocelyn Eusebio, Sta. Fe Mayor, Hon. Florante Jerdan, Dupax del Sur Mayor, Hon. Wilson Geron, Kayapa Mayor, Hon. John Balasya, and Ambaguio Vice Mayor, Hon. Isidro Pasigon.
As the product of concerted efforts among the Philippine Seed Industry Association (PSIA), the Department of Agriculture, and NVSU, the two-day event earned the thumbs up from the evaluating bodies, as it convened government, non-government or private institutions and farming communities for a common cause.
By Kathrine D. Ojano
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