By Daniel P. Tapaoan, Jr.

A team of agriculture students of the MMSU College of Agriculture, Food and Sustainable Development (CAFSD) bagged awards in the seventh international summer course program hosted by the Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia on July 9-22.

Audrien Marie Tunpalan, John Christopher Tumamao, Vivi-Ann Sadian, Ralph Christian Rarangol, James Daniel Fiesta, and Marc Aaron Monte won second best group presenter in the event’s agri+culture category. Mr. Keivin Cadavona, CAFSD faculty member and adviser of the Animal Science Students’ Association, served as their coach. 

In the competition, the team presented five agricultural practices that are unique to the Philippines and in Ilocos region: panagdapil, pakbet, ulnas, arado, and banting. 

Fiesta, a member of the CAFSD delegation, along with other participants from other universities, also bagged first place in a team building activity dubbed ‘lost in the sea.’ Monte was also voted as the friendliest delegate.

The winners received trophies and certificates during the July 21 cultural night at the ASLC Hall in UGM. 

The MMSU team was among the five groups which represented the Philippines. Other groups came from Afghanistan, China, South Korea, Timor Leste, Indonesia, Thailand, Sudan, Pakistan, Myanmar, and Vietnam. 

CAFSD Dean Sosima Demandante congratulated the team for their feat in the international summer course. She also thanked the MMSU administration, headed by President Shirley C. Agrupis, for its support to student international mobility. 

The 14-day program tackled the challenges and opportunities for livestock and agricultural production in responding to the issue of global food crisis. Its course themes are rural development, agro-tourism integration, sustainable food systems, animal welfare, agriculture and livestock production, agriculture economics, and Indonesian culture. (HLY, StratCom)