MANILA, Philippines - Innovation isn't everything.
This is the lesson that experts from the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) imparted on innovative makers of agriculture-based products who just can't penetrate bigger markets.
Twenty-eight product developers joined the training course dubbed "Market Study and Formulation of Marketing Strategies for Commercializable Agri-based Technologies/Products" sponsored by the two agencies at the SEARCA headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna from March 28 to 30.
The participants were mainly government employees and biotechnologists engaged in product development and generating new technology.
Representatives from the Regional Field Units (RFUs) 1, 2, 4A, 5 and BAR joined the training course along with those from the Quezon Agricultural Experiment Station (QAES) of the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Others came from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) stationed in RFUs 2I, 4A, and 6; Pampanga Agricultural College (PAC), Southern Luzon State University (SLSU) and BAPAMIN Enterprises.
SEARCA director Dr. Gil C. Saguiguit Jr. welcomed the participants and said the training is a supplementary activity of SEARCA and DA-BAR's joint project on Capacity-building and Comparative Study on Technology Management in Southeast Asia.
SEARCA is one of 19 regional centers of excellence of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), an inter-government body founded in 1965 to foster cooperation in education, science, and culture among Southeast Asian nations.
"BAR and SEARCA have been working together for a good number of years now in strengthening the agricultural sector, mainly through the development of the capacity of the DA personnel from the national, regional, and field units in managing technology transfer and commercialization projects in support of the department's National Technology Commercialization Program (NTCP)," Dr. Saguiguit said.
The NTCP has gained grounds in making technologies work for farmers, fisherfolk, and entrepreneurs.
Nevertheless, DA-BAR continues its partnership with SEARCA to address the clamor from the DA network for continuous upgrading of their knowledge of technology management practices in Southeast Asian countries in order to benchmark knowledge and practices of technology management in the Philippines.
The training was aimed at helping the participants develop appropriate marketing strategies for agri-based products and technologies by analyzing the market environment.
Upon completion of the course, the participants were expected to have greater appreciation of marketing factors, including consumer behavior, product innovation, and formulation of effective marketing schemes.
The resource persons, mostly from the Department of Agribusiness Management (DAM) of the University of the Philippines at Los Baños (UPLB), tackled topics such as competitor analysis, market segments and buying behavior, market research methods, demand forecasting, product quality improvement and product safety, product presentation, pricing strategies, product distribution and promotion, cluster marketing and supply chain management.
"We hope that through this training, a better understanding of the market environment will lead to the development of both technology- and market-driven agri-based products that would benefit the agriculture sector and the consuming public as a whole," Dr. Saguiguit said.
