New DOST agri-technology showcased in Leyte
THE Department of Science and Technology (DOST) recently showcased agriculture-related technologies developed by the department to interested business investors from the Visayas in an exhibition held at the Ormoc City Superdome on September 15 and 16, the department reported.
DOST joined the pre-events leading up to the 25th Visayas Area Business Conference at the invitation of Jude Abenoja, president of the Ormoc City Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OrCham). “We asked DOST to be our partner,” Abenoja explained. As a pre- event to the business conference, DOST held a Technology Transfer Day, featuring 74 technologies available for adoption. This was the first DOST Technology Transfer Day held outside Metro Manila.
“We are selling technologies, not products,” Usec. Rowena Cristina L. Guevara explained to the audience consisting mostly of business people from Leyte and elsewhere throughout the Visayas.
crispy and nutritious vacuum fried fruits and vegetables, as well as other products. These products were produced using food processing equipment for DOST’s Food Innovation Centers.
DOST “sells” the technology behind the equipment to entrepreneurs by way of licensing, which allows the investors to reproduce the machinery.
Abenoja said he arranged with DOST-VIII Regional Director Edgar M. Esperancilla to hold the DOST Technology Transfer Day a day before the business conference in order “to bring technologies and the DOST closer to the business sector as we share a common goal which is to bringeconomic opportunities to the countryside.”
About 300 out of the 500 business conference delegates attended the Technology Transfer Day, Abenoja said.
present opportunities for the region, including the carrageenan plant growth promoter, semen extender for goats, nipa sap sugar production, stabilized brown rice, complementary foods, DOST tablea, Food Innovation Center processing equipment, STARBOOKS, for packaging and currency base papers.
“The 11 technologies are handpicked as these as seen to work in our area,” Abenoja told.
The organizers, composed of the OrCham, DOSTVIII, DOST-Technology Application and Promotion Institute, and the Eastern Visayas State University, received a number of term sheets during the Technology Transfer Day, indicating inquiries for possible technology adoption.
this partnership doesn’t end here. With the help of DOST, OrCham will help the pineapple and jackfruit sector. We already discussed this with Mayor Richard Gomez,” Abenoja added.