Empowering the Farmers

Dr. Romulo G. Davide

Farmers who are also scientists and businessmen—that’s what Dr. Romulo G. Davide envisions for Filipino farmers.  He wants to train farmers to empower them using science and technology.

Dr. Davide’s farmer-scientist program has empowered upland farmers in Cebu to determine the appropriate technologies for their farms.  Through Dr. Davide’s  program, the farmers learned integrated pest management, and thus encouraging them not to depended on toxic pesticides.  They also learned to develop their own hybrid corn producing their own seeds from their farms.

Dr. Davide’s desire to serve his fellow Filipinos is unquestionable.  After gaining his bachelor’s degree from the University of the Philippines’ College of Agriculture, he went to the United States where he earned his masters and doctorate degrees from the Oklahoma State University and North Carolina State University, respectively.  Shortly after receiving his doctorate degree in nematology and plant pathology in 1966, he was offered a professorial job that he declined because of his commitment to his country. 

This commitment would highlight his prolific career.  Dr. Davide is internationally recognized for his contributions to nematology, including the national survey, identification, and control of nematodes that infest economic crops.  He also discovered the first and safest biological control agent, called BIOACT, against nematodes.  For these and other works, Dr. Davide has the distinction of being the first Filipino to be included in the “Who’s Who” in nematology.

Asked to comment on his career and contributions as teacher, scientist, and mentor, Dr. Romulo Davide shrugged all the accolade aside, saying that he is just an instrument of God.

Source:

► Eileen Calaycay-Cardona.  ‘There are no barren soils, only barren minds.”  http://www.up.edu.ph/forum/2002/Aug02/davide.html

► National Academy of Science and Technology.  http://www.nast.dost.gov.ph/pro_davide.html

Dr. Michael D. Purugganan

Dr. Michael D. Purugganan, a man described by his peers as one who is “distressingly fond of black clothing,” is a principal investigator for plant genome diversity

Have you seen mangoes or papaya with (really) flawless skins, not to mention pest-resistant?  Or maybe big gumamela flowers in varying colors?  Well, these are just examples of what plant geneticists achieve in their work.

Dr. Michael D. Purugganan is one such scientist who goes deeper into probing plants by studying the genes involved in controlling plant shoot formation and flower development.  He specializes in evolutionary genetics of plants.

Dr. Purugganan is currently an associate professor of genetics at the north Carolina State University in the United States.  He heads a laboratory in the Department of Genetics at NCSU, which engages in assessing the factors involved in the development of plants of the same species on the molecular level.

His team looks into the specific plant development pathways then maps and isolates the genes responsible for the plant’s form the intricate floral patterns and variations—a glimpse into a plant’s evolutionary adaptation and diversity.

A prolific researcher who has published papers in the fields of molecular population genetics, quantitative genetics, developmental biology and evolutionary ecology.  Dr. Purugganan was named William Neal Reynolds Professor of Genetics (2005). 

Dr. Parugganan obtained his undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of the Philippines Diliman (1985), his master’s degree in empirical and theoretical biophysical chemistry from Columbia University, and his Ph.D in botany from the University of Georgia in 1993.

Sources

Michael D. Purugganan Personal Homepage. http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/genetics/purugganan/purugganan.html

Department of Genetics Laboratory Homepage, NCSU. http://purugganan.gnets.ncsu.edj/

 

Photo courtesy:  puruggananlab