UPLB's Current Research & Extension Agenda

The current research and extension agenda of the University of the Philippines Los Baños is co-owned and collectively pursued by the UPLB staff, motivating them to engage in activities that aid in achieving the sustainable development goals, while cementing the University’s place in the international community.

Vision

The University of the Philippines Los Baños shall be the country's agora or marketplace for pioneering innovation–through systems thinking, solutions-making, and
future-proof paradigms.

Mission

We are committed to strategize our R&E efforts to ensure that what we are doing in the field, in our laboratories, and at the communities address the most pressing issues of
today and of the future.

Development Thrusts
Strategic Direction
Compassion
Inclusivity
Active Engagement
Collaboration
Science-based Recommendation
Smart Agriculture Systems powered by Agri 4.0 Technology
Biosecurity and Biosafety
Science, Technology, and Innovation System for Agriculture, Forestry, Natural Resources, and Environment Continuum
Agricultural Farming Schemes for Urban and Peri-Urban Systems
Social Concerns (cultural preservation, etc.)
Environmental Concerns (natural resource conservation, climate change mitigation and adaptation, etc.)
Economic Concerns (increased income, economic growth, etc.)
Participation and Intergenerational Equity
Employment Opportunities
Internalization
The Continuum for Accelerating Growth

Our research and extension agenda is premised on the challenges faced by the Philippines in the areas of food security, health, natural disasters, and governance. The UPLB AGORA seeks to contribute more vigorously to addressing the pressing and pervasive problems – low productivity, unprofitability and lack of competitiveness – brought about by the size and scale of farms and farmer organizations, weak governance, and the dire lack of collaboration with the industry.

The Elements behind UPLB AGORA
114 Years of UPLB Research and Extension
We envision the University of the Philippines Los Baños as an agora or marketplace of pioneering and demand-driven
research and extension for development and innovation–through systems thinking, solutions-making,
and future-proof paradigms.
1909
1999
1999 (continued)
1999 (continued)
2005
2011
2021
March 2022
UPLB Foundation
Research at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) began with the founding of the UP College of Agriculture (UPCA) in 1909 which was at the forefront of agricultural research, experimenting and generating knowledge on tropical agriculture when at that time, it was acknowledged there was virtually none.
Reassessing UPLB's Role
UPLB’s mandate was reassessed from its traditional role in providing national leadership in instruction, research and extension in agriculture, forestry and related fields to meeting the growing needs for quality education in the arts and sciences, humanities and engineering. The university’s mandate was broadened to include far-reaching policy and institutional reforms. It targeted the problems of the industry and agriculture.
Reassessing UPLB's Role
It also aimed at a national development framework premised on accelerated economic growth, a social contract with the poor which was during the Arroyo administration, and the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA) premised on dynamic, smallholder agriculture.
Reassessing UPLB's Role
The mandate also responded to the need to revitalize education, the call for more investments in productivity-enhancing research and development, and the pressing need to enhance institutional capability at all levels. Further, being the seat of several centers of excellence, UPLB shares its institutional resources with the country’s state colleges and universities (SUCs).
Revised RDE Thrusts
As part of his vision for UPLB, Chancellor Luis Rey I. Velasco, the university oriented its programs to three priority areas – food and agriculture, environment, and biotechnology, where the university will focus and build its academic research programs around niches and themes that will respond to and anticipate major national needs
Integrated Research, Development and Extension Framework
From 2008, UPLB continued its strategic planning activities and workshops leading to a program framework to harmonize the university's research, development and extension initiatives in different growth areas. The framework, along with the growth areas, became part of the output in the 2009 UPLB Planning Workshop, and were adopted during the administration of Former Chancellor Rex Victor O. Cruz, and then part of the UPLB Integrated Research, Development and Extension Framework.
The UPLB AGORA
UPLB Chancellor Jose V. Camacho, Jr. spearheaded the crafting of a unified research and extension agenda to direct a clear path for engagement between and among stakeholders and partners. It is premised on the challenges faced by the country in the areas of food security, health, natural disasters, and governance.
The UPLB AGORA
The UPLB AGORA – Accelerating Growth through One Research and Extension in Action – was launched with the aim of being an R&E agenda that contributes more vigorously to addressing the pressing and pervasive problems such as low productivity, unprofitability, lack of competitiveness brought about by the size and scale of farms and farmer organizations, weak governance, and the dire lack of collaboration with the industry.

The UPLB AGORA strategizes our research efforts to ensure that what we are doing inside our laboratories, in the field, and in the communities will address the most urgent and most important issues of today and of the future – going beyond publication, concepts, and theories to translate them into solutions and innovations that will really empower people.

This R&E Agenda is co-owned and collectively pursued by the UPLB staff, motivating them to engage in activities that aid in achieving the sustainable development goals while cementing the university’s place in the international community.