Australia provides P293.5-M grant for fruit, veggie R&D

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna – The country’s tropical fruit and vegetable sector stands to benefit considerably from a P293.5-million research and development (R&D) assistance grant provided by the Australian government.

The A$7.53-million R&D assistance is stipulated in a memorandum of subsidiary arrangement signed between Australia through the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the Philippine government through the Los Baños-based Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCARRD).

Signatories to the agreement were Australian ambassador to the Philippines Rod Smith and PCARRD executive director Patricio S. Faylon.

Under the agreement, Australia, through ACIAR, will provide a grant of A$84.29 (P168 million) for fruit R&D and A$83.24 million (P125.57 million) for vegetable research.

The fruit program is titled “Emproved Domestic Profitability and Export Competitiveness of Selected Fruit Value Chains in the Southern Philippines and Australia.”

The vegetable program is called “Enchanced Profitability of Selected Vegetable Value Chains in the Southern Philippines and Australia.”

Providing leadership to the program are Dr. Joy Eusebio, director of PCARRD’s Crops Research Division; Les Baxter, ACIAR program manager; and ACIAR-Philippine horticulture manager John Oakeshott based in Davao City.

Also to be involved are state colleges and universities (SCUs), private sector organizations, and concerned government agencies.

The SCUs are the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), UP Mindanao in Davao City, University of Southeastern Philippines (USEP, also in Davao City), and Visayas State University (VSU) in Baybay City, Leyte.

The government agencies are the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Plant Industry-Davao National Crop Research and Development Center (DA-BPI-DNCRDC), DA-Regional Field Units 4-B and 10, DA-Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS), DA-Northern Mindanao Integrated Agricultural Research Center (NOMIARC), and the local government units (LGUs) of Davao del Norte and Davao del Sur.

Others involved are Normin Veggies, East-West Seed Co., Catholic Relief Services, Philippine Institute for Development Studies, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), International Center for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), and Del Monte Philippines.

From the Australian side, taking part in the implementation of the program are the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organization (CSIRO), Department of Primary Industries, and industry.

To be released in the next four years, the R&D assistance is expected to considerably benefit producers of high-value tropical fruits and vegetables in some parts of Eastern Visayas (Region 8), Northern Mindanao (Region 10), and Southern Mindanao (Region 11).

The fruit program will study the integrated crop management and improvement in mango and durian production in Davao City, Davao del Norte, and Davao del Sur; papaya in Cagayan de Oro City; and jackfruit (nangka), in Leyte. – Rudy A. Fernandez