Making history! Wheat, Barley, Alfalfa Trials Start In 2 State Universities

Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean now, a huge Container Ship bound for Davao City, carries one 20-foot container, among its many cargoes, whose contents could revolutionize Philippine Agriculture.
Inside the container are Sorghum seeds intended for the Southseas Agri-Aqua Ventures, Inc., (SAAVI) and small packets containing hundreds of varieties of Wheat, Barley, Triticale and Alfalfa.
These seeds will be used in a Private Sector-initiated Research on the adaptability of several Wheat, Barley, Triticale and Alfalfa varieties in the Philippines.
The seeds will be planted in Trial Farms to be established by two Agriculture State Universities which I had earlier identified, the University of Southern Mindanao (USM) in Kabacan, North Cotabato and the Central Mindanao University (CMU) in Maramag, Bukidnon.
I had earlier identified the Isabela State University (ISU) up north as one of the possible test sites but since I have not received any response from ISU, I decided to just focus on the two State Universities near my base of operations.
The seeds were donated by Scott Seed Company of Hereford, Texas whose owners Coby Kriegshauser and his brother, Chad, I met and befriended when I was Secretary of Agriculture.
Scott Seed Company is a 75-year-old agricultural company established by Coby and Chad’s grandfather, a Scottish farmer who settled in Texas, Ira Scott, which was later taken over by their father, Gary, a German-American.
Even after I resigned from the Dept. of Agriculture, I maintained my contact with the brothers and succeeded in convincing them to support my dream of shattering the old myth that Wheat, Barley, Soybeans and Alfalfa would not thrive in the tropical Philippines.
With the support of SAAVI Chairman, former Senator Panfilo Lacson, the Kriegshauser brothers, their son, Barry and Plant Breeder Chuck Cilienski, visited the Philippines in August of 2022.
That was when the agreement to start the varietal trials for Wheat, Barley, Triticale and Alfalfa was signed with two State Universities – University of Southern Mindanao in North Cotabato and the Central Mindanao University in Bukidnon.
The varietal trials will be monitored by the Bureau of Agricultural Research and the Bureau of Plant Industry of the Dept. of Agriculture to determine which among the many seeds will perform well under Philippine conditions.
All of these crops, especially Soybeans and Wheat, are heavily imported by the Philippines.
It was believed that growing these crops in the Philippines was difficult, thus the option was to import.
When the seeds arrive in Davao City by next month, the Varietal Trials will start in USM and CMU and while this is a private sector-led endeavour, I have decided to engage the Dept. of Agriculture so that they will have official documentation and recording of the performances of the different varieties.
The success of this project will revolutionize Philippine Agriculture and reduce our dependence on imported agricultural products.
It will finally prove that the Philippines could be an Agricultural Powerhouse in the region and a major exporter of Agricultural Products if only we get out of the box and shatter the myths.
#KungGustoMaramingParaan!
#chasingadream!