Local farmers have demonstrated that empowerment can make a tangible impact, reaching the dining tables of Filipino families, as through SEARICE's training initiatives, farmers gained valuable technical skills in breeding new crop varieties and producing genetic materials—directly supporting their planting activities, which were successfully showcased at the Farmers’ Technical Conference.

15th of July 2026 at Central Philippines State University (CPSU) – Main Campus in the City of Kabankalan, small farmers from fifteen farmers’ associations convened at the culmination of Southeast Asia Regional Initiatives for Community Empowerment (SEARICE) and CPSU’s two-year “Engendering Access for Smallholder Farmers to Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture for Conservation and Sustainable Use” project.

At the conference, success stories, not by academics or scholars but by grassroots Negrense farmers, were narrated. They were celebrated as the output of the SEARICE-CPSU partnership, as funded by the Benefit-Sharing Fund (BSF) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) in the efforts to capacitate farmers in managing the sustainable use and conservation of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, or PGRFAs.

Farmer leaders from associations based in the Cities of Kabankalan and Bago presented the outcomes of the trainings provided by the partner institutions, which were imparted by the former SEARICE-trained farmers from Mindanao who served as training resource speakers.

In the Farmers’ Innovation and Knowledge-Sharing Session, Mr. Butz Buerom of Tabucol Farmers’ Association (TFA), Ms. Josesanie Camral of Ballo Mainit Farmers’ Association (BMFA), Ms. Judy Cardiente, and Ms. Elsa Panim, who are both from the Overseas Filipino Workers Association of Barangay Camingawan (OFWABACA), represented their associations in presenting their experiences and outputs in adapting and breeding traditional varieties of rice, corn, peanut, and bittergourd, respectively.

They presented the facts and the nature of the aforementioned crops, including their Floral Morphology and Biology, and normal pollination means, and also showcased the respective breeding setups accustomed to the crops and the breeding process itself, including the emasculation process, the ideal pollination time, and the significance of proper tagging and data gathering.

In the afternoon session, farmer leaders, namely Pastor Jerry Dionson of the Tabunan Small Farmers and Irrigators Association (TSFIA), Mr. Ray Allan Gomez of Tugas Integrated Farmers Association (TIFA), Ms. Billy Flor of the Mailum Minoyan United Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative (MMUFAMPC), and Mr. Buerom answered relevant questions and shared testimonies on Seed Saving, Sharing, and Community Seed Systems.

Farmers met with policymakers in the High-Level Dialogue Session with Fourth District Board Member of Negros Occidental Hon. Nicholas Yulo, Office of the Provincial Agriculturist – Crop Protection and Agricultural Extension Division OIC Division Head Dr. Mary Ann Ordinario, Triumph of the Holy Cross Parish’s Fr. Chris Gonzales, and Peace Pond’s Mr. Jet Orbida, who also shared feedbacks and insights in the initiative, especially on the farmers who willingly cooperated and worked with CPSU and SEARICE in the program.

The partner institutions conferred certificates on the participating farmers’ associations and the individuals who shared their culinary knowledge of food innovations using indigenous ingredients—compiled, published, and launched as the Kusina ni Tantsa cookbook by SEARICE.

Pastor Jerry Dionson welcomed his fellow farmers in his opening remarks; CPSU Production and Enterprise Development (PEDO) Director Dr. Maryvic P. Pedrosa delivered the message on behalf of the University President Dr. Aladino C. Moraca and also gave the Project Overview; SEARICE Program Officer for Policy and Advocacy Ms. Christine Maguddayao enumerated the Conference Objectives; and Mr. Jose Novo Dagunan, Executive Assistant, delivered a message to the attendees on behalf of the Office of the City Mayor of Kabankalan.

SEARICE Executive Director Ms. Normita Ignacio delivered the closing remarks with a compelling challenge on the protection of PGRFAs, support for the empowerment of the farmers as breeders, and the call for policymakers to protect the rights of the farmers to their seeds.

Here are the participating farmers' associations:

1. Ballo Mainit Farmers’ Association

2. Camingawan Lumboy Pinamus-an Tamlang Farmers’ Association

3. Camingawan Rain-Fed Rice Clusters Farmers’ Association

4. Camingawan Tagukon Farmers’ Association

5. Inawaran Matanguilon Lika Small Farmers Association

6. Kristiyanong Mangunguma sa Kamugan

7. Mailum Minoyan United Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative

8. Mailum Organic Village Association

9. Matanguilon Badjang Farmers’ Association

10. Overseas Filipino Workers Association of Barangay Camingawan

11. Purok Matanguilon Communal Irrigators Association

12. Tabunan Small Farmers and Irrigators Association

13.  Tabucol Farmers’ Association

14. Tugas Integrated Farmers Association

15. Upper Ballo Integrated Small Farmers’ Association