Healthy Flavors of Science - pcaarrd - Department of Science and ...

NEWS
MONITOR
Phil-Aus project... (from page 4)
This technology involves rapid
soil measurement technique
and statistical modeling.
Moreover, the project will assess
suitability of the land for various
uses through improved approaches
and methodologies. Data and
information to be collected and
analyzed will reside in local and
selected national agencies for land
use planning processes and as
sound basis for decision-making.
The Billabong catchment in
New South Wales will be used
as a test-bed for new methods of
watershed characterization and
land suitability assessment that
will be used in the Philippines.
Aside from CSIRO and BSWM,
agencies which will be involved in
the project are: World Agroforestry
Center, Department of Environment
and Natural Resources-Regions
X and VII; Misamis Oriental
State College of Agriculture and
Technology; Landcare Foundation of
the Philippines; Bohol Island State
University; and local governments
of Misamis Oriental and Bohol.
The project evolved from a
consultation workshop organized by
ACIAR Philippines and PCARRD
through its Agricultural Resources
Management Research Division. In
this workshop, participants agreed
to address the issues on watershed
characterization, land suitability
for agricultural development, and
land use planning. CSIRO, as
commissioned by ACIAR, drafted
and refined the proposal after a
series of meetings with partner
agencies and visit to project sites.
An inception and planning
meeting has already been conducted
to lay the ground works for the
project implementation that
will soon start this year.
PCARRD is the designated
authority of the Philippine
government to undertake
coordination, monitoring, and
evaluation of this project and
other ACIAR projects in the
country. (Ofelia F. Domingo)
Of fruits and greens:
A horticultural R&D joint venture
In the southern regions of
the country, fruit and vegetable
farmers constantly encounter many
threats to their livelihood. Thus,
an immediate and a great need for
appropriate S&T interventions to
protect the farmers’ primary income
source and help them counteract
extreme weather changes, pests
and diseases, poor soil and plant
nutrition, and postharvest losses.
In response, the Australian
Centre for International Agricultural
Research (ACIAR) in partnership
with PCARRD is now working on
two programs to find solutions and
address issues that impact on value
chains in Southern Philippines.
These projects are: Improved
Domestic Profitability and Export
Competitiveness of Selected Fruit Value
Chains in Southern Philippines and
Australia and Enhanced Profitability
of Selected Vegetable Value Chains in
Southern Philippines and Australia.
The status of the two programs
became evident at the 3 rd Philippine
Annual Program Review for the
ACIAR-PCARRD Horticulture
Program on Fruits and Vegetables
in Davao City on April 7.
Fruitful program
The fruits program focuses on the
development of supply chains, preand
post-handling pests and diseases,
crop nutrition, and economic and
policy issues on selected fruits such as
mango, durian, jackfruit, and papaya.
Supply chain. The research
team from the University of the
Philippines Los Baños (UPLB)
focused on the ‘Solo’ papaya
domestic supply chain in Tupi,
South Cotabato and its distribution
in different market chains in Metro
Manila and outlying provinces.
Identifying the constraints and
opportunities, partners recommended
improving the supply chain for
the Philippine papaya. Since the
consumers value color and quality
of the fruits, one way to improve the
continued on page 6 ►
The PCARRD Monitor 5