BCAARRD hosts 2nd RRDCC Meeting for 2021

The Bicol Consortium for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (BCAARRD) hosted the Regional Research and Development Coordinating Council (RRDCC) Meeting last January 18, 2022.

The Consortium Member Institutions (CMIs) attended the annual meeting, with a quorum of 17 people present at the start. Because the RRDCC Conference was a virtual event, more participants joined as the meeting continued.

The new heads of BCAARRD CMIs were also given recognition by the Consortium Director, Dr. Marissa N. Estrella.

“Andyan din po first attendee yung DA-BAR new Director and new presidents of other SUCS. (Joining us also here today as first-time attendees, is the new Director of DA-BAR and new presidents of other SUCs.) And of course, PCAARRD, they are all here. And our project leaders, we invited them also,” she said.

Dr. Junel B. Soriano, Director of Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Agricultural Research, introduced himself along with the representative of the new presidents of State Universities and Colleges (SUCs).

He expressed his pleasure to be part of the meeting of the Consortium and stated his gratitude for the invitation.

“Agricultural Engineer po ako by profession, but, of course, I am a hands-on farmer sa Isabella, dealing rice, corn, and other livestock. Recently I was appointed as Director of BAR last October 25, 2021. My pleasure working with you and hopefully, makakatulong po kami sa Consrtia po ninyo. (My pleasure working with you and I hope that our institution can help the Consortia,” he stated.

The meeting was presided by the RRDCC Chairperson and Bicol University (BU) President Dr. Arnulfo M. Mascariñas. He delivered a welcome message to the attendees and commended BCAARRD for being more present and responsive despite the Covid-19 Pandemic.

“The challenge really is, how to make our presence be felt more personally in a virtual setup. At this point, let me commend the Bicol Consortium for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development or BCAARRD, under the leadership of Dr. Maris Estrella, for always being in the forefront of significant activities and meaningful ideas. She’s been exerting her best effort in the midst of this pandemic to make BCAARRD and our R&D mandate relevant where it matters the most. I can just empathize with her when it comes to the difficulty of coordinating with the different member agencies concerning Consortium activities,” he said.

Dr. Mascariñas concluded by expressing his hope that the CMIs will never weary of supporting and contributing to the mandates and reasons for the establishment of BCAARRD in 1976.The RRDCC Meeting highlighted the accomplishment report of the consortium, along with financial matters and projects monitored by BCAARRD, specifically the Pili NICER Program.

(written by Julianne Nicolle G. Moral, SRA, BCAARRD)