CEBU CITY, Philippines -- It is always refreshing to note that there are scientists who are continually coming up with practical technologies that provide a big impact on local farming.

One that easily comes to mind is a lady chemical engineer from Cebu City who has developed the first organic fungicide that was registered sometime ago by the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA).

She is Engr. Gigi Zaballero who came out with Antica, an extract from local fruits which does not only have fungicidal but also bactericidal properties.

We first encountered the product when it was presented at the Mango Congress in Bohol a couple of years back. It was then presented as an effective control material for anthracnose in harvested mango fruits as well as anthracnose affecting the leaves and other parts of the tree.

Earlier we were told that Antica was successfully used in preventing or controlling Moko and Sigatoka diseases in banana. These are two devastating diseases of this fruit crop.

The latest that we have learned about Antica is that in initial trials on rice in Nueva Ecija and Isabela by researchers of PhilRice, Antica has been observed to be more effective than the traditional pesticides against bacterial leaf blight (BLB) and bacterial leaf streak (BLS), which are two major diseases of rice. It is also being tested against tungro disease.

Another scientist who comes to mind because of his home-grown technologies is Dr. Rene Sumaoang, a Greman-trained microbiologist and enzymologist.

He has come up with his own concoction of beneficial microorganisms, called Biosec, which is effective in producing organic fertilizers out of locally available raw materials like chicken manure, coco coir dust, corn cobs and other indigenous biodegradable materials. Biosec , which comes in powder as well as in liquid form, is also used to suppress foul odor in poultry and swine farms.

He has also developed new technologies that are helpful to poultry and swine raisers. His concoction for swine comes by the name of Fedgrozyme which is mixed with swine feed. This results in faster growth at less cost.

For poultry, he has two formulations of essential vitamins and minerals with enzymes and beneficial microorganisms. One of them is called Nutradec (for oil-based vitamins and minerals) and Biolyte for water-based vitamins and minerals. Small amounts of these formulations are added to the drinking water of chickens to improve their growth and make them more resistant to diseases and other stresses. With Nutradec and Biolyte, there is less need for antibiotics in growing broilers and layers.

Surely there are many other home-grown technologies that are benefiting our farmers. We will let you know about them some time.