The mentee group of the Department of Science and Technology’s Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD) belongs to the Policy Unit. DOST-PCAARRD is a partner of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

The Policy Unit is mandated to formulate policies, strategies, and programs for agriculture, aquatic, and natural resources. Their challenge was their team was limited to overseeing policy studies and research. Due to limited staff and lack of confidence and know-how, they were not doing actual policy advocacy. Under the tutelage of their Mentor, Jaime Faustino, the Mentees learned and practiced the DE principles, which boosted their confidence. The team took charge of their policy advocacy function and created a Policy Advocacy Plan. This plan moves them from simply doing analysis or studies to proactively seeking the adoption of specific policies emerging from their research. To-date, their planned advocacies including a new policy related to shrimp, research on queen pineapple, the creation of a Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and biotechnology improvements. Moreover, to ensure they have sufficient resources, they were able to increase the number of their unit’s staff, from four to 13. CfC hopes to continue monitoring the DE journey of the PCAARRD mentees.

The Department of Science and Technology Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD) is one of the sectoral planning councils of DOST. It also programs and allocates government and external funds for science and technology in the said sectors.

Members:

1. Mia Barbara Aranas, Senior Science Research Specialist
2. Christine Ann Predo, Science Research Specialist
3. Farah Sevilla, Science Research Specialist
4. Monica Castillo, Science Research Specialist
5. Mark Christopher Bautista, Science Research Specialist