Dr. Cheryll Casiwan-Launio
BS Agriculture 1993
Distinguished Alumna in Agricultural Policy and Development Studies
Cheryll was the first BSU graduate to be employed at Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) as a Science Research Analyst and then Supervising Science Research Specialist upon finishing her doctorate in Japan.
At PhilRice, she collected and analyzed national economic surveys of rice-based farm households, socio-economic evaluation of hybrid rice technology, and other Philippine rice- developed technologies that contributed to the information and policy position papers relevant to rice farmers and the rice industry. She co- edited a book with an agricultural economist on “Why does the Philippines Imports Rice: Meeting the Challenges of Trade Liberalization”. The book, in layman’s terms, explained the predicament of the country in not achieving the goal of rice self-sufficiency and why some level of trade liberalization may be acceptable and supported crop diversification for the marginalized rice sector, and share tenants and landless labor workers.
She published 13 Scopus/Clarivate Analytics indexed journal articles; 8 papers on other refereed journals; 2 books as co-editor, two books as coauthor, and many more. When she moved to BSU, she started a policy brief series, “Informing Policy and Practice”.
She is multi-awarded: Outstanding PhilRice Employee, three-time recipient of the AFMA Best Paper Award, several Best Poster Awards by the National Association of Science and Technology, and other regional and institutional best paper awards.
In 2014, she moved to BSU and is now the Director of the Publications Division. She is married to fellow alumni, Marlon D. Launio and are blessed with 3 children.