By Cyrus A. Natividad

Dr. Palada is a member of the CPU Board of Trustees and a visiting Professor of the College of Agriculture, Resources, and Environmental Sciences

After his assignment in Bohol as consultant to the Dompor Farms, Dr. Palada was called by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to serve as National Rice Technical Expert for a program by the Department of Agriculture on developing the Philippine Rice Industry Road Map (PRIR) on August 15, 2021. This program is managed by a consulting firm, Pacific Rim Innovation and Management Exponents, Inc. (PRIMEX).

The major objective of the program is to provide the strategic framework for the further development of the Philippine rice sector into one that is competitive, resilient, and climate-adaptive within the context of a broader agriculture sector transformation that will involve the shift of marginal farmlands to high-value crops (HVCs), considering demographic and agro-climatic characteristics of the country, and generate higher income for farmers.

As a Technical Rice Expert, Dr. Palada will review and validate the list of provinces in the initial/preliminary Philippine Rice Industry Roadmap (PRIR) and final selection of provinces, which are suitable for rice production or which have the least production cost and higher yields in the cultivation of palay.

He will work with a team of experts in the field of agribusiness marketing, policy and institution, finance, socio-economy and information technology.

Palada has also been a consultant of the ADB in 1997, when he was a professor at the University of Virgin Islands. He was the Rice Agronomist for the project under the Philippine Grain Sector Development Program

The final product of this technical assistance by ADB will be the drafting of the Philippine Rice Industry Road Map (PRIR) based on the findings of the study for submission to ADB and Department of Agriculture and for recommendation and effective implementation.

Dr. Palada is a Member of the CPU Board of Trustees and a College of Agriculture, Resources and Environmental Sciences Visiting Professor of Central Philippine University. He is instrumental in pursuing agricultural studies and projects in the Philippines and other countries. He is the editor of the book The Miracle Tree (Moringa olefiera).