A GROUP of faculty researchers and human resource management director of the Visayas State University were recently recognized as regional winners for the Civil Service Commission Awards 2020.

The VSU YUCA Lifters composed of Dr. Daniel Leslie Tan, Professor Alan Loreto, Dr. Julie Tan, Cynthia Dolores Godoy, and Maria Elsa Umpad, were selected as 2020 PAG-ASA Regional Awardee for the group category, while Dr. Lourdes Cano, VSU Director for Human Resources Management, was accorded the 2020 PAG-ASA Award for the individual category.

“With this achievement, VSU has continued the winning streak in the CSC Honor Awards Program, held every year to acknowledge government officials and employees who display outstanding performance in their respective workplaces,” the university said.

The VSU YUCA Lifters won the award for their meritorious work on the development and transfer of various cassava technologies.

“They accomplished this through establishing on-farm trials, demonstration farms and nurseries, and by implementing training on production and processing of cassava including the organizing of food festivals, exhibits, and expositions that will promote root crops as a viable staple food,” VSU said.

One of their most notable locally generated technologies is a climate resilience and vulnerability assessment map that targets and identifies suitable and high-yielding areas for planting cassava and other root crops.

The group also introduced high yielding cassava varieties and provided training on proper cultural management practices to farming communities.

Meanwhile, Dr. Cano won the CSC PAG-ASA Regional Award under the individual category due to her outstanding performance in human resource management, which resulted in VSU’s commendation as a Bronze Awardee for the CSC’s Program to Institutionalize Meritocracy and Excellence in Human Resource Management.

Dr. Cano spearheaded the crafting of a unique human resource management framework that was emulated by other government agencies, and state universities and colleges in Eastern Visayas.

She also extended her expertise to other institutions including Samar State University, Biliran Province State University, Cebu Normal University, Palompon Institute of Technology, Eastern Samar State University, Sultan Kudarat State University, University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines, Eastern Visayas State University, and Land Transportation Office Region 8.

“Both the YUCA Lifters and Dr. Cano will vie for the national PAG-ASA Award which will be conferred in Malacañang this year.

Last year, the team of researchers from VSU’s National Coconut Research Center in the Visayas won the national PAG-ASA Award for the group category, the university said.