Central Mindanao University Academic Paradise of the South
The University launched the Village-level Biological Control Laboratory (Bio-Con Lab) on June 4, 2013 at the CMU Research and Extension complex. Its establishment aims to promote the use of biological control as a strategy in managing insect pests and/or diseases following the organic way. The Bio-Con Lab is a collaborative project of the Department of Agriculture β Regional Field Unit 10 (DA-RFU 10) and CMU. The former provided the grant of PhP 400,000.00 and the latter shared a counterpart of PhP 1.3 million to fully establish and to operationalize the Bio-Con Lab.
Dir. Constancio Maghanoy, Regional Technical Director of DA-RFU 10, emphasized that farmers are partners in promoting the use of bio-con agents in insect pest management. Moreover, Dr. Soliven, the University President, shared her anticipation that the university employees will internalize and see the long-term importance of establishing a bio-con laboratory in the university. She added that the University commits to become a lead institution in the area in promoting and using bio-con agents.
A total of 89 participants joined the launching. Aside from the Β CMU administrators, faculty, staff and some students, other participants included some Bukidnon farmers and farmer leaders, representatives of the Department of Agriculture-Regional Crop Protection Center (DA-RCPC), Municipal Agriculture Officers, agricultural technicians, Β the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), East-West Seed Foundation, Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura (MASIPAG), and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) (RGPadoginog/CMU-PRIO).
