from the ICRISAT website>
A training on Resesarch-Development-Extension for rain-fed
agriculture was held for Cordilleran agencies with RDE mandates last January
2013, by the Philippine Rainfed Agriculture Research, Development and Extension
Program (PhiRARDEP) – and jointly sponsored by International Crops
Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics ( ICRISAT), Ifugao State
University (IFSU), and the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) of the
Department of Agriculture (DA).
PhiRARDEP’s goal is to develop, coordinate, monitor and
evaluate the implementation of a vigorous rainfed agriculture research,
development, and extension program to enhance food, nutrition and energy
security, improve livelihoods and empower communities in the country’s rain-fed
areas. The program was conceptualized through the concerted efforts of ICRISAT,
DA-BAR, state universities and colleges (SUCs), and local government units
(LGUs) in the Philippines.
Sixty participants from different institutions of the six
provinces of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and BAR attended the
training. Dr. Serafin Ngohayon and Dr. Eduardo Bagtang, Presidents of IFSU and
the Kalinga-Apayao State College (KASC), respectively, both from CAR, expressed
confidence that the training could provide the impetus for rain-fed development
in the region through community seed systems. Rosana Mula, ICRISAT Learning
Systems Coordinator, provided an overview of the training and its expected
outputs.
Among the resource persons from ICRISAT were Rex Navarro
(Innovations in knowledge sharing for community mobilization), Suhas Wani (Watershed
management), and Myer Mula (Pigeonpea, chickpea and seed systems). Resource
persons from the Philippines were Joel Lales of BAR (Overview of PhiRARDEP);
Heraldo Layaoen of the Mariano Marcos State University (Sweet sorghum);
Fernando Gonzales of Benguet State University (Chickpea); Rose Mary Aquino of
the Cagayan Valley Integrated Agricultural Research Center (Groundnut); Karen T
Barroga and Olive Asis of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice
Knowledge Management & Sharing); Susan Balanza of DA (Development plan of
CAR); and Wilfredo Cabezon of the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (Soil
and water conservation in Philippine rainfed areas).
One of the highlights of the training was the presentation
of a collective plan by province, the outputs of which will be integrated into
a single proposal for submission to BAR.
The closing program was presided over by Commissioner of
Higher Education Dr William Medrano, a strong supporter of agricultural
research for development who was instrumental in crafting the links and
networks of SUCs with ICRISAT and the DA.
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