AFSTRI and IRRI Toastmasters Club hold speech craft course

The Association of Fellows, Scholars, Trainees, and Residents in IRRI (AFSTRI) and the IRRI Toastmasters Club (I-TMC) held a 3-day speech craft course and public speaking immersion training.


Speech Craft is a public speaking and confidence-development course given by officers of the TMC and is designed for those who want a quick introduction to and training in communication, leadership, and public speaking.

Seventeen AFSTRI members are undergoing the rigorous oratory training that is being held in 3 separate sessions (29 September and 6 and 20 October 2012).

I-TMC, a group under Toastmasters International, has held the speech craft courses in the past but this is the first time it conducted it jointly with AFSTRI and I-TMC to train AFSTRI members.


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Suhay announces art contest winners

Suhay, a charity group led by spouses of IRRI staff, held an artwork contest for children of local and international staff in late September. The winners have been announced, thus:

In first place is "Simbang Gabi" (above) by Jeril Matthew Belen, son of Marlyn Belen (NPR), with a cash prize of Php 2,500.

The others are, in second place, Junior Maunahan, son of Aileen Maunahan (SSD) (Php 1,500); and three honorable mentions for a cash prize of Php 1,000 each—Kathleen Riz Faye Adriano, daughter of Lolit Adriano (CESD), Iman Ismail, daughter of Abdel Ismail (CESD), and Susan Li, daughter of Tao Li (CESD).

Belen's winning drawing is a colorful depiction of the 9-day early morning masses held during Christmastime in the Philippines. See all artworks.

Prizes can be claimed from Judy Buresh of HRS.


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IRRI employee group holds feeding session and medical mission for flood victims

The Association of IRRI Secretaries and Administrative Staff, or AISAS, reached out to members of the local community affected by the flooding caused by the "Habagat rains" in August.

Working with the Lakeshore Homeowners Association, AISAS held a feeding program for 146 families from Barangay Kabaritan in Bay, Laguna, on 22 September 2012. These families are temporarily living in a 'tent city' inside Lakeshore Subdivision in Barangay Sto. Domingo, Bay, Laguna. Children in the evacuation area participated in games and won prizes, while residents and AISAS members cooked a special meal for the feeding program.

AISAS also carried out a medical mission also for flood victims in Barangay Mayondon in Los Baños, Laguna, on 24 September 2012.  This activity was held in partnership with the San Antonio de Padua Parish Health Ministry-Pagmamahal sa Kapwa Foundation, Inc., Tem Eusebio (local physician), and Barangay Chairman of Mayondon Vic Reyes. About 50 families from Purok 6 availed themselves of the free consultation and medicines.

The major sources of livelihood in these communities have been affected due to floodwaters not having fully receded along Laguna Lake. It is also typhoon season in the Philippines and more flooding is expected for the rest of the year. 


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IRRI holds health education and medical mission for local community

To help lower the incidence of common illnesses and increase health awareness and good practices among local residents who are of low income, IRRI's Host Country and Community Relations Office conducted its eighth Community Health Education and Medical Mission in Barangay Maahas in Los Baños, Laguna on 28 September 2012.


The medical team, led by Mary Agnes Motril of the Philippine Army General Hospital, provided counseling on wellness among the elderly, basic hygiene, and nutritional care for mothers and children.

IRRI provided free vitamins and medicine for common ailments such as upper respiratory tract infection, diarrhea, skin diseases, and allergies.


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IRRI staff help raise aid for flood victims during local festival

IRRI employees led by IRRI Deputy Director General for Communications and Partnerships V. Bruce J. Tolentino joined Los Baños' walk-for-a-cause that had the theme, Mga nasalantang kababayan, ating damayan, on 17 September.


The foundation of the municipality of Los Baños, Laguna, is commemorated every September with a week-long celebration, usually opened by a grand parade, Bañamos, that is participated in by various organizations and civil agencies.

On its 397th anniversary in 2012, a walk-for-a-cause was held instead of the traditional grand parade. Proceeds from the walk will be used to help those affected by the flooding caused by the "Habagat rains" and Typhoon Gener in July. More than 1,000 families are still staying in evacuation centers or tent cities as floodwaters have not receded in some areas.

During the program, IRRI was recognized for its active participation and response to the emergency and relief operations and other continuing partnerships with the Los Baños disaster response and risk reduction committee.

IRRI's Host Country and Community Relations Office continues to organize and facilitate donations, feeding programs, rehabilitation, and livelihood activities for affected residents. 


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Experimental design analysis course held in IRRI

Twenty-one IRRI staff attended the course, Analysis of experimental design using the SAS System, held on 24-28 September 2012 at the I.T. Learning Center.


The course includes introduction to the SAS environment, basic data steps, and procedures of the SAS programming language. Demonstrations, in addition to lectures and exercises, were made on analyzing data using the SAS program recipes.

The course also covered mixed models, repeated measures, incomplete block designs, spatial analysis, combined analysis, and generalized linear mixed models for the analysis of counts and proportions. 

Resource persons course were Violeta Bartolome, senior associate scientist, and Leilani Nora, assistant scientist, both from PBGB-Biometrics.


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Indonesia: Seminar on rice postharvest technologies and fan-testing held in South Sumatra

The Post-Production Work Group of the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium held a two-day seminar-orientation on rice postharvest technologies, in collaboration with the Balai Pengkajian Teknologi Pertanian (BPTP) in Palembang, South Sumatra.


Thirty farmer leaders, manufacturers, and local government officials attended the event. The attendees were introduced to the stripper harvester technology that will compliment more than 300 flatbed dryers adapted in the area. A video on the stripper harvester was shown, in which the relevance of the technology to flatbed dryers were presented as well as the scarcity of manual labor in the area.

Farmers raised some of the problems encountered with the flatbed dryer during the seminar, including low drying air temperature and long drying time.

Pat Borlagdan of IRRI discussed the requirements for a good flatbed dryer and briefed the farmers on fan-testing and how it can ensure the proper functioning of flatbed dryers. A demonstration on the use of an actual fan test rig assembly was held.

Professors from Sriwijaya University also spoke on the process of technology adaption and the critical role of manufacturers.

The IRRC-PPWG is managed by Martin Gummert, IRRI postharvest specialist.

The event was was graced by Andy Mulyana, director of the Suboptimal Land Research Center in Sriwijaya University; Rudy Soehendi, director of BPTP Palembang; and Benjamin Lakitan, deputy director for research at Jakarta Central Office. 


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