By Love Grace D. Campano

 

A man of science, education, and achievement – Dr. Reynaldo C. Castro, an exceptional administrator and an agricultural engineering genius is bowing out of government service after decades of fruitful and dedicated years and agricultural leaps. As the director of PhilRice-Batac, he has placed his legacy in the field of agricultural research and development and has contributed significantly in propelling the lives of many people, especially the farmers towards greater heights. He is the brainchild of the PALAYAMANAN project of the PhilRice-Batac, which created and boosted the confidence of many farmers on farming as a noble source of livelihood.  This project garnered a lot of recognitions in local, regional and national arena.

 

Dr. Castro has been a long-time partner of the consortium, he being a member of the Regional Research Coordinating Council (RRDCC). His superb and brilliant ideas had contributed much in the attainment of the vision and mission of the consortium.

 

His excellent academic track record, being a national state scholar as well as a Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) and Fullbright scholar, set the stage for him to soar high and achieve recognitions in his chosen field. As an achiever, Dr. Castro was awarded the National Gawad Saka as Outstanding Agricultural Scientist by the Department of Agriculture (DA) in 1995 and again as Outstanding Agricultural Worker in 1996. He was also recognized as the Most Outstanding Agricultural Engineer by the Philippine Society of Agricultural Engineers (PSAE) and as a Distinguished Alumnus for Research and Development of UP-Los Banos. Aside from these, he has to his credit numerous Best Paper and Best Technology awards from scientific organizations or government institutions.

 

A well-respected scientist, Dr. Castro served as National President of the Philippines Society of PSAE and the President of the Philippine Association of Research Managers (PhilARM). He also served as the Board Examiner for Agricultural Engineering of the Professional Regulatory Board (PRC), and a member of the Technical Panel for Agricultural Education of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and a long-time editor of the Philippine Agricultural Engineering Journal.

 

Dr. Castro has been to most part of the world as a lecturer, evaluator, conference participant or organizer and as an ambassador of goodwill.

 

On February 8, 2021, the consortium together with the members of the RRDCC conducted a simple retirement program for Dr. Castro, as a way of recognizing his 22 years of dedicated service, and for his valuable contributions and exemplary performance as one of the members of the RRDCC of the consortium.