The Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF), through its Knowledge Management Section, held its third Knowledge Unloading Day (KUD) this year on November 14, 2025 via Zoom, featuring three returning scholars who shared their research outputs, key learnings, and personal experiences from their academic journeys. This year’s KUD, themed “Insights from PCAF’s Returning Scholars”, highlighted grantees from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP).
In her opening message, PCAF Executive Director Bernadette De Los Santos emphasized the value of transforming individual learning into organizational insight.
“Through today’s KUD, we aim to transform individual learning into collective wisdom. The insights and experiences our returning scholars will share today are seeds of innovation that can enrich our programs, strengthen our policies, and help us better serve our partners in the agriculture and fisheries sector,” she said.
Representing KOICA scholars, Svenjo Nicdao completed a Master of Artificial Intelligence in Applied Artificial Intelligence, Major in Digital Innovation at Hanyang University, while Janielle Aretha Pelonio finished a Master’s Degree Program in Economic Development Policy for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth at the Korea Development Institute (KDI) School of Public Policy and Management.
From DAP, Alvin Racho completed his Master in Development Management under the Middle Managers Class of the Public Management Development Program (PMDP) Batch 32 in Tagaytay City.
During the knowledge-sharing session, Nicdao discussed his onboarding process as a KOICA scholar, offering practical insights into scholarship requirements and preparations. He also encouraged participants to explore the KOICA scholarship programs currently open for applications. Nicdao further presented his thesis, “Cultivating Sustainability: Digital Innovation and Participatory Governance in Agricultural Decision-Making,” which examined how various digital innovation practices influence consultative mechanisms, sustainability efforts, and stakeholder empowerment in the agri-fishery sector.
When asked about classroom dynamics abroad, Nicdao explained that Korean classes tend to be collaborative and laboratory-oriented. “All students, including the professors, work together on projects. Professors appreciate student insights, and even adjust the syllabus based on their needs,” he noted.
Pelonio shared her experiences adjusting to Korea’s unique culture, along with the coping mechanisms she developed to meet new academic demands, manage homesickness, and navigate language barriers. She also presented her supervised research project, “Rethinking Urban Agriculture in the Philippines: Lessons from Practices and Policies in Select Southeast Asian Countries.” Her study drew lessons from Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand to assess which approaches may be replicated in the Philippine context.
Meanwhile, Racho recounted his “sensing journey” in Brgy. Maungib, Pura, Tarlac, where PMDP scholars lived with foster families to understand community realities firsthand. “We were encouraged not to intervene or try to change their lives, but simply to live the experience,” he said, reflecting on how the immersion deepened his understanding of grassroots development. He also shared insights from his capstone project, “Youth Participation in Agriculture and Fisheries Policy Development through Youth-led Policy Hackathon,” which aimed to address the low engagement of young people in agri-fishery policy development by creating platforms for meaningful youth involvement.
The event also revisited the significance of PCAF’s scholarship initiatives. In an earlier interview, Administrative, Financial, and Management Division Chief Cyril Soliaban underscored that these programs reaffirm the agency’s commitment to enhancing its human resource capabilities.
“The scholarships are PCAF’s way to provide our employees with advancement opportunities and the goal of further honing their skills and knowledge,” he said. He added that it had been decades since the agency, then known as the National Agricultural and Fishery Council, last granted scholarships, and that most recipients of foreign grants in previous years were already retired.
Soliaban emphasized that alongside regular training, scholarship programs demonstrate PCAF’s seriousness in strengthening its Learning and Development framework, one of the four pillars of the Program to Institutionalize Meritocracy and Excellence in Human Resource Management.
As the event drew to a close, Planning, Monitoring and Knowledge Management Chief Floreliz Avellana encouraged more PCAF personnel to take advantage of scholarship opportunities.
“I hope that other potential scholars, when these opportunities arise, will grab them. Let’s go for higher learning,” she said.
Through this year’s KUD, PCAF continues to foster a culture of continuous learning, enabling its workforce to translate advanced knowledge into practical innovations that support the agency’s mandate of providing quality policy services to its agriculture and fisheries stakeholders. | Joy Camille Luza
