"Determinants of climate change adaptation strategies of Cavendish bananas.."

Written by Rene Estremera. Posted in Report

Determinants of climate change adaptation strategies of Cavendish banana and mango farmers in Davao del Norte, Philippines

Mellisa P. Loquias, Eloisa Lynne P. Banguis, Jon Marx P. Sarmiento, Glory Dee A. Romo, and Larry N. Digal

School of Management, University of the Philippines Mindanao

Abstract

Climate change remains to be a global issue and it has affected agricultural sectors including the production of export crops like Cavendish bananas and mangoes. The impacts of climate change on the agricultural sector have made adaptation unavoidable. Thus, this study aimed to examine the climate change adaptation strategies of farmers involved in the production of tropical fruit exports such as Cavendish bananas and mangoes. Two focus group discussions were conducted before the actual data gathering in the field to obtain information that would guide the design of succeeding data collection activities. A total of 185 Cavendish banana farmers and 160 mango farmers were interviewed using a survey questionnaire. The respondents were determined through Stratified Random Sampling. The main econometric tool used for the study was Multivariate Probit Regression (MVP) and the data collected were analyzed through Stata software. For the Cavendish banana adaptation model, the top five farm strategies are establishment or improvement of the drainage canal, frequent watering, increase use of fertilizer, transition to organic/sustainable farming, and improved harvesting technique. The factors that significantly affect the decision to adopt these adaptation strategies include annual income, farm size, the incidence of drought and excessive rain, and hazards. For the mango adaptation model, the top five farm strategies are frequent watering, land holiday, farm diversification, transition to organic/sustainable farming, and conservation horticulture techniques. The significant factors affecting the adaptation strategies of the farmers include years of farming experience, household size, access to training, access to extension, annual income, mango farming as the main source of income, presence of drought, and level of climate change awareness. Intervention in agriculture should be strategic and focused on addressing possible impacts of drought, excessive rain, and other hazards. Moreover, increasing the level of awareness through a community-based information system is one of the recommended interventions. A more targeted intervention based on the key factors must also be considered by the government, non-government organisations, and the private sector to help increase the farmers’ adaptive capacity.

"Organizational resilience and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Philippine businesses"

Written by Rene Estremera. Posted in Report

Organizational resilience and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Philippine businesses

by Glory Dee A. Romo, Jon Marx P. Sarmiento, Francis Levi A. Durano, Imee Marie A. Acopiado, Thaddeus R. Acuña, Adonis M. Traje, and Geraliza D. Wahing

School of Management, University of the Philippines Mindanao, Davao City, Philippines

The COVID-19 pandemic has had global repercussions as many countries embarked on measures such as mobility restrictions to avoid the further spread of the virus. This has led to reduced economic activities worldwide across all industries. The pandemic has negatively impacted enterprises such as in the form of increasing costs, reducing sales, and labor-related challenges including remuneration or retrenchment. Through a mixed-method analysis using fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), we analyzed the asymmetric relationship between organizational resilience attributes and costs, sales, and the number of employees among Filipino enterprises. This paper used the Benchmark Resiliency Tool (BRT) developed by Resilient Organisations which includes 13 organizational resilience indicators. Data from key officers of the 293 enterprises all over the Philippines participated in the survey through Google Forms. The resilience indicators were grouped according to their three main attributes, namely, leadership and culture, networks, and readiness to change. The results revealed that high practice of change-ready attributes such as the enactment of planning strategies is a key factor that resulted in the reduction of the employee count among enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conjoining this attribute with either low leadership or with low network makes an enterprise more likely to reduce employees. Thus, being ready for changes, especially during times of unexpected and unpredictable situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic is a critical component of adaptation. Overall, our results showed that enterprises that practice a single organizational resilience attribute (at a high level) are associated with encountering either higher costs or sales decreases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Owing to their similar results, both increased costs and reduced sales of the enterprises show that in totality, the practice of organizational resilience attributes is crucial during external shocks, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a challenging environment for enterprises to operate. Reducing the number of employees may be used by crisis-stricken enterprises as a short-term strategy for recovery and how remuneration can instead be implemented to avoid the cascading negative effects of retrenchment on an employee’s household. Financial performance is used as a basis of enterprises’ strategies, and in extreme cases, retrenchment might be among the only viable solutions for the survival of a business during crises. There is a need for regular employee-employer consultation for more labor-friendly actions that are also more likely to be implemented in addition to empowering employees with the current situation of the enterprises. Moreover, the rise of online methods of purchasing may indicate an opportunity for businesses to invest in online sales infrastructure. Combining conventional modes of selling with online methods may increase the sales potential of enterprises.

"Women-led Firms and Innovation: Evidence from Philippine Enterprise Survey"

Written by Rene Estremera. Posted in Report

"Women-led Firms and Innovation: Evidence from Philippine Enterprise Survey" by Imee Marie A. Acopiado, Jon Marx P. Sarmiento, Glory Dee A. Romo, and Thaddeus R. Acuña

School of Management

University of the Philippines Mindanao

Davao City 8000 Philippines

Keywords: enterprise survey, gender, innovation, logit, women

The Philippines ranked 17th in the world in terms of the global gender gap and second in the Asia Pacific region. Despite the pandemic, Filipino women are occupying senior leadership positions at 48%, which is considered the highest in the world. On the other hand, the country ranked 50th in the global innovation index. Hence, this research explored the link between women-led firms and innovation. Using 497 valid samples from 1,335 firms that participated in the Philippine Enterprise Survey in 2015, four models of innovation were analyzed using the logit model. These firm-level innovations refer to 1) products or services, 2) methods of production, 3) logistics, delivery and distribution, and 4) supporting services. Results suggest that women-led firms are more likely to adopt product and logistics innovations while the high share of women skilled non-production workers including managers, administration and sales may likely lead to innovative methods of production. In contrast, the high share of women skilled production workers negatively affects innovation in supporting services. Other drivers of innovation include share of largest owner, foreign-owned licensed technology, annual sales, direct exports, material inputs from foreign origin, number of non-production workers, capacity utilization, and hours of operation. Thus, while women in leadership roles positively impact innovation, the high composition of women involved in supporting activities such as maintenance systems, purchasing, accounting and computing operations may hinder innovation growth. To close the gender gap in innovation, firms may need to focus on increasing the participation of women in providing innovative solutions at the production level, particularly those involved in delivering support services.

Mindanao Cattle R&D update, 2022

Written by Rene Estremera. Posted in Report

Dr. Antonio R. Obsioma and Dr. Virginia P. Obsioma presented research outputs of the Mindanao Cattle Research and Development Project (MCRDP) to Department of Agriculture Undersecretary for Livestock William Medrano and Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) Director Reildren Morales on 09 March 2022 at the National Beef Cattle Research & Development Center (NBCRDC) in Dalwangan, Malaybalay City. Also with them in this meeting were DA-XI Regional Executive Director Abel James Monteagudo and NBCRDC Chief Luisito Avante. Chief Avante is a research partner who is working on the preservation of the semen of the F1 bulls. The MCRDP is being conducted by the University of the Philippines Mindanao and funded by the Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office (DA-RFO XI). Phase 1 of this project started in 2013 and will be completed by the end of March 2022. Phase 2 of the project is underway and will be conducted by the Department of Agriculture RXI. The team proceeded to visit the project site on 11 March 2022 where the DA officials saw the crossbred cattle produced since 2013. The crossbreds were shorter compared to native cattle but were found to have better dressing and lean yields and good meat quality characteristics. One of these was an F1 bull named “Red” which delighted the visitors (in photo, above).

"Towards Creating Impacts: UP Mindanao-Funded Researches" and "AI and Robotics Programs of UP Mindanao"

Written by Rene Estremera. Posted in Report


The CARIM forum panel	Prof. Rubrico

The Center for the Advancement of Research in Mindanao (CARIM) held the twin online event "Towards Creating Impacts: UP Mindanao-Funded Researches" and "Launching of AI and Robotics R&D Flagship Programs of UP Mindanao" on 23 February 2022. CARIM director Prof. Emma Ruth Bayogan gave the opening remarks and vice-chancellor for administration Assoc. Prof. Karen Joyce Cayamanda delivered the closing. In between, University Research Associate Remie Aurelio served as emcee, and Development Management Officer Mitchiko Lopez and Assoc. Prof. Ritchie Mae Gamot facilitated the discussions.

Asst. Prof. Leo Manuel Estaña (Department of Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science) presented his research, “Yellow Saddle Goatfish Algorithm - Optimized Uncapacitated Facility Location Problem, ”an optimization model of cooperative behavior observed in a fish species. Aside from the results and implications, future projects are contemplated to sustain the initial work involving the stakeholders, particularly the local governments and public organizations in the project site.

Prof. Jose Ildefonso Rubrico (also of the DMPCS) led the UP Mindanao launch of the two flagship programs on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics, as program leader of both programs. He delivered a talk/lecture entitled, “Empowering the Filipino Nation: Flagship R&D Programs for AI and Robotics Innovation and Capability-Building at the Grassroots.”

The two research programs, the Philippine Sky Artificial Intelligence Program (SkAI-Pinas) and the Autonomous Societally Inspired Mission Oriented Vehicles Program (ASIMOV) are the flagship R&D initiatives of the DOST in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-Robotics, respectively. The two AI programs were launched in an online event led by DOST Secretary Fortunato de la Peña, Undersecretary for R&D Rowena Cristina Guevara, and PCIEERD Executive Director Enrico Paringit on April 8, 2021, along with five other AI projects as part of the DOST Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) Artificial Intelligence R&D (AI Pinas) Program. The occasion also included the virtual turnover of High-Performance Computing (HPC) machines to the implementing agencies of the AI projects; UP Mindanao received its HPC machine – the first-ever of this high-end supercomputing caliber - on May 3, 2021. The three-year SkAI-Pinas and ASIMOV Programs, combined for a total grant of around Php 427 million upon their approval in 2020, with UP Mindanao serving as the lead implementing agency, in close partnership with the DOST Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI). Prof. Jose Ildefonso U. Rubrico, Ph.D., a Professor of the University with the Department of Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science, serves as the Program Leader for both the SkAI-Pinas and ASIMOV R&D initiatives. He is a DOST Balik-Scientist and UP System Balik PhD.

ASIMOV, the first full-scale AI and robotics initiative of its kind in the Philippines, officially commenced on June 15, 2021, as the flagship R&D program of the DOST in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (AI-Robotics), with a total budget of around Php 54 million from the DOST-PCIEERD. Prof. Rubrico said that the program is aimed at developing autonomous robots capable of independent navigation, collision avoidance, vision-based feature detection, and environmental mapping to be deployed in the field under real-life conditions, particularly in unstructured and dynamic environments. As such, the hiring of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers was opened for the aerial component of the ASIMOV Program being implemented in UP Mindanao, namely, the “Harmonized Aerial Watch and Knowledge-based Survey” or HAWKS Project. The ASIMOV Program builds on the results of the AI-Robot Project, a grassroots research endeavor in AI-Robotics which was initiated and led by Prof. Rubrico during his engagement as a Balik-Scientist hosted by the DOST-ASTI in 2017 and 2018.

SkAI-Pinas, funded through the DOST Grants-in-Aid (GIA) program, began its implementation on October 1, 2021, as the flagship R&D program of the DOST in Artificial Intelligence with a total revised budget of around Php 210 million, reflecting the involvement of the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) in providing some of the key resources previously covered by the original DOST grant of roughly Php 374 million. The SkAI-Pinas Program is a large-scale extension of Project ALaM, a grassroots research endeavor in Artificial Intelligence that was also initiated and led by Prof. Rubrico during his engagement as a Balik-Scientist hosted by the DOST-ASTI in 2017 and 2018. Through the program’s component projects, like the “Automated Labeling Machine – Large-Scale Initiative” (ALaM-LSI) being implemented in UP Mindanao, the previous efforts are significantly expanded to bridge the gap between big data availability and the lack of a sustainable technology-based framework that is needed for the widespread, rapid, and democratized development and deployment of remote sensing applications.

The SkAI-Pinas and ASIMOV Programs are also meant to increase the visibility and footprint of UP Mindanao, particularly in the emerging technologies sector, and to attract and capacitate research staff and faculty towards the establishment of a College of Engineering in the University with a strong ICT component. To date, linkages have been formalized via corresponding MOAs with two Philippine Science High School campuses (SMC and ZRC), and partnerships with various relevant parties in industry, academia, and the government are being forged. Support from the industry (Davao UAS Photography) in the form of an equipment endowment has also been received.

(view the video here: https://youtu.be/gnF-e6DS-4I)

More Articles...