.::. BAR Chronicle .::. A monthly publication of the Bureau of Agricultural Research

Vol. 3 No. 7
April 1-15, 2002
National team leaders plan for their networks
by Maria Rowena S.A. Briones

The team leaders of research, development and extension (RDE) networks for each commodity and discipline plan and orchestrate research programs, and delegate and monitor research efforts and functions.

This is a part of a series that features the plans, goals, and challenges faced by the National Team Leaders (NTLs) of the 21 RDE networks so that the public may know what the NTLs hope to achieve. This article is culled from my interviews with them.

Mr. Ceferino Baniqued
Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
We hope we can have funding from international agencies so that we can augment our network funds. We are preparing a proposal for the United Nations Development Program to fund our project on conservation of our indigenous plant genetic resources.

We have requested the Food and Agriculture Organization to fund the training of the staff of DA research centers all over the country on how to conduct inventory and collection of our plant genetic resources (PGR). We hope the Philippines can be the lead country in the conduct of such trainings in Southeast Asia.

Presently, there are 25 research stations actively collecting PGR in their areas. We hope we can provide for the needs of these research stations while they are doing the collection and inventory.

The network is composed of BPI agencies and DA research centers all over the country. We are also working with our agricultural state colleges and universities. It is important that we work on strengthening the network by holding a meeting at least twice a year and releasing a monthly newsletter. This can help us form a healthy working relationship with each other. The meetings are necessary avenues for discussion and presentation of the results of our activities, in this case, the PGR inventory that we are doing.

We hope to finish our nationwide inventory this year. The inventory will help our plant breeders in accessing good qualities of plants such as resistance to pests and disease, drought, and acidity.

We are renovating the Plant Genetic Resources Laboratory in UP Los Banos to house the PGR collections that we are able to gather. The Bureau of Plant Industry is in charge of the documentation of the collections. We hope that we can improve our capability as the host agency.

We are facing an enormous challenge of retrieving our indigenous plant species that have been pirated from us by foreign countries. We also have to replenish and rehabilitate our plant species especially those under the threat of extinction.

We really need money for training the people who will handle the collection and inventory of our PGR. We also hope to provide their stations with computers so they can be linked together through the use information technology.

But I am glad that even if we do not have enough funds for the projects we have in mind, the network members have a healthy working relationship with each other. I guess this is the most important thing before the network will be able to achieve anything.

Ms. Cecilia Gloria Soriano
Fiber Crops
Soriano

This year, we intend to visit all the sites of our high impact projects and collaborate with other agencies especially those in Mindanao. Two of our high-impact projects are slated to be concluded this year. One is on the mechanization of the extraction and twining of fibers. The other focuses on the genetics of fiber crops-tissue culture, DNA finger printing, and disease indexing.

In November, we will hold the "Abaca Congress". This is the avenue for us to assess how we have addressed the problems of the industry through the years. We will identify the most pressing problems and pool our resources to really address this effectively and efficiently next year.

The abaca industry is performing well, in the sense that it is stable. We expect the industry to remain stable in the next five years. However, the industry could do better if they can increase their productivity levels, improve their planting materials and disease management. The thrusts of the network address these needs.

We try to accommodate the concerns of the whole industry. But with the limited funds that we have, we can only do so much. It is a challenge for us to bring everyone's efforts together. I hope that our system for funds allocation will be truly rationalized. We also need to have clear mechanisms for the networking that we do.

On our part, we need to improve our linkages with other networks especially with the agricultural engineering and biotechnology networks. I hope we can sustain the efforts that we have started.

I am happy that we help each other and we have a strong camaraderie. Our respect for each other is there. Even if our pace is slow, we are able to give our best. Slowly but surely, we will do everything in the best of our capabilities to achieve the vision of the network. (To be continued)