Many of the new technologies, inputs, and production techniques, which increase agricultural productivity, are developed through agricultural research. Choosing a subject is the first, and often the toughest, step of the research project for the researchers to discover procedures that will increase livestock and crop yields, boost farm productivity, minimize losses due to pests and diseases, create more effective equipment, and increase overall food quality.
In line with these objectives, training on research topic identification was conducted at the Southern Tagalog Integrated Agricultural Research Center Training Hall in Lipa City, Batangas, for researchers and other Research Division personnel of the Department of Agriculture (DA) Region IV-CALABARZON.
Ms. Vilma M. Dimaculangan, Assistant Regional Director for Research and Regulations, and concurrently the Regional Livestock Program Coordinator, urged participants not only to conduct researches on the basis of quotas or funds but, “Let us develop our capacity to innovate, use latest approaches and methods, and improve technology transfer strategies appropriately.”
Mr. Wilmer S. Faylon, Senior Science Research Specialist and served as the sole resource person and facilitator of the workshop, highlighted in his lecture considerations in the selection of topics such as importance, study feasibility, ethics, personal knowledge of the study, and validation of previous work.
He also discussed steps to determine research topics, including identifying the commodity and thinking as a whole; describing all possible categories of the commodity selected; going specific; drawing on the expertise of the researcher; linking particular categories with conceptual importance; identifying keywords; organizing keywords into a term and creating a working topic/problem; and consulting.
To meet the main purpose of the workshop, participants were divided into groups to identify key research topics based on their selected commodities and across various areas such as livestock and/or crop production type, breed, production stage, production and reproduction parameters, nutrition, product development, marketing, and certification.
Approximately 50 research specialists and aides attended the activity who were based at DA CALABARZON research and experiment stations. • (ARC, DA-RAFIS)
[Photos Courtesy of Mr. Alvin Dart Bagsic Allagones of Research Division]
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