Food security, sustainable energy and resilience programs are the appropriate programs to meet the challenges of government and business in the Zamboanga Peninsula, one of the economically struggling regions in the country.
This was highlighted during the Regional Science, Technology, and Innovation Week (RSTW) in the Zamboanga Peninsula as the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said it supported ongoing initiatives in these three sectors.
The RSTW events in the region were held in Dipolog City early this month.
‘The Zamboanga Peninsula has already shown us what is possible when government, academe, industry, and local communities unite around science, technology, and innovation [STI] to ease local concerns through collaborative action,’ said Science Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr.
Solidum said that interventions for efficient and sustainable agricultural production with greater value are ‘already underway’ for the region’s farmers and fishermen. The DOST has rolled out assistance on minimizing post-harvest losses and improving productivity in both rice processing and aquaculture to lessen the challenges brought by soaring prices and insufficient agricultural investment.
‘Farmers are yielding more, fisherfolk are increasing their returns, entrepreneurs are expanding into high-value goods, and consumers are accessing safer food,’ he said, citing Food and Agriculture Organization findings that noted that almost five in every ten Filipinos face moderate to severe food insecurity, the highest rate in Southeast Asia.
He said sustainable energy source should work hand-in-hand in the Zamboanga Peninsula to take advantage of the region’s industrial base in wholesale and retail, including motor vehicle maintenance. The DOST has said the region has strong talent and industrial capacity enough to drive e-mobility through electric vehicles (EVs).
The DOST said Dipolog City has one unit of converted tricycle (c-trike), while Dapitan City will receive more besides the six e-trikes and two CharM EV charging stations turned over last year. Moreover, Zamboanga Peninsula is set to advance e-mobility innovation and technical skills through the C-Trike Kit Developer and Training Center, which Solidum noted is being discussed with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).
‘We are preparing for its establishment to strengthen science and technology services, as well as the deployment of e-tranvia in Dipolog and e-trike in Dapitan, creating opportunities for cleaner and more sustainable mobility,’ said Science Undersecretary for Regional Operations Sancho A. Mabborang.
Solidum also emphasized that natural hazards disasters were the common challenge of the Philippines, the Zamboanga Peninsula included, yet he said the region has demonstrated critical leadership in preparedness.
Across the region, he said 44 local governments have adopted DOST-developed disaster risk technologies and 43 local resolutions have institutionalized science-backed risk reduction. ‘True resilience is not built after a disaster strikes; it is established long before. Every investment made in science today prevents catastrophic loss tomorrow,’ Solidum said, citing Zamboanga Peninsula as the first region in the Philippines to complete all the modules of the Rapid Earthquake Damage Assessment System (Redas) platform.
Redas is a DOST-developed software that performs hazard monitoring, database development, simulation, and impact assessment on various natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods, severe winds, tsunamis, and lahars.