DA-12 eyes more awards in this year's Gawad Saka

KORONADAL CITY -The Department of Agriculture 12 hopes to bring home more accolades at the annual DA-led Gawad Saka Awards this year.Engr. Milagros Casis, regional executive director of DA 12, disclosed today that the regional office had endorsed ten entries from Soccsksargen in this year’s edition of the prestigious national tilt. Our national entries – which are our regional winners – had hurdled and passed the rigorous standards and qualifications set in every category, Director Casis said adding that each regional technical working group for every category made sure that each winner had met the criteria and has bigger chances in sealing the national award.This year’s regional winners for the group categories are the Bulacanon Irrigators’ Association of Makilala, Cotabato (small farmers’ organization), Ruferos Family of Banga, South Cotabato (fisherfolk family), Tampakan MAFC (municipal agriculture and fishery council) and South Cotabato PAFC (provincial agriculture and fishery council).Three farmers from South Cotabato are also enlisted as regional winners and national entries they are Berlinda Montaño of Banga (rice farmer), Jose Lorenzo of Tupi (high value crops farmer), and Gerardo Cordero of Koronadal City (coconut farmer). They are joined by Ivy Carolino of Carmen, North Cotabato for the young farmer category.Dr. Emma Sales a faculty member of the University of Southern Mindanao in Kabacan, Cotabato is this year’s outstanding agricultural scientist.Maria Cecilia Frando, Gawad Saka focal person of DA 12, said that for the regional level, the winners for the individual categories will each get P30,000.00 while winning organizations and groups will bring home P50,000.00. Our regional winners for this year will be awarded in a ceremony sometime in June, she further informed.The Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) which serves as the national secretariat will be consolidating and will be submitting the entries to the respective national technical working groups. Afterwards, each national TWG will determine their national finalists who will undergo national field validation and evaluation.Last year, Region 12 produced two national winners.Regina Ruferos of Banga bagged the outstanding fisherfolk award and Dr. Sailila Abdula topped the list for the outstanding agricultural researcher category.Dr. Abdula is the current Executive Director of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).Gawad Saka is the most prestigious award given by the DA to outstanding individuals, farmers and fisherfolk, as well as rural-based organizations, for their exemplary contributions to the development of the agriculture and fishery sectors.