Newsfeature

Confab on dryland agriculture identifies national RD&E agenda and lays groundwork for PhilDRI
by Rita T. dela Cruz

DA Usec. Segfredo R. Serrano (left) delivers his keynote address during the opening of the “National Dryland Agriculture RD&E Conference”. Listening in at the VIP table are: (L-R) Dr. Libertad C. Rivera of DA-RFU 3 (attending in behalf of DA-RFU 3 Regional Executive Director Redentor S. Gatus), ICRISAT Director General William D. Dar, and BAR Director Nicomedes P. Eleazar.

In a bid to sustainably manage the country's dryland agriculture and contribute to poverty alleviation and social empowerment of poor communities, the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR) partnered with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) to conduct the first-ever “National Dryland Agriculture Research and Development and Extension (RD&E) Conference” on 17-18 April 2008 at the Oxford Hotel, Clark Special Economic Zone, Pampanga.

With the theme, “Energizing Research, Development and Extension for Sustainable Dryland Agriculture Philippines”, the two-day conference assessed the contemporary situation of dryland agriculture in the country which served as the basis for identifying a national RD&E agenda for dryland agriculture and groundwork for establishing an institution for dryland research.

The activity was attended by more than 100 participants from various government agencies, state university and colleges, representatives from the regions identified with dryland areas, and invited experts from India-based research institutions, ICRISAT and Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA).

DA Undersecretary Segfredo R. Serrano, the guest of honor, stressed in his speech the crucial role of the local government unit in the successful implementation of a national program for dryland agriculture.

Meanwhile, providing the keynote address was ICRISAT Director General William D. Dar.

Dr. William D. Dar presents ICRISAT’s initiatives on dryland agriculture.

Why focus on dryland agriculture?
In his presentation, Dr. Dar referred to the “drylands” as those that are hyper-arid, arid, and semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, including both rainfed and upland. The dryland areas are characterized by high climate variability, high precipitation, erratic rainfall, and poor soils which subsequently result in low and unpredictable crop and livestock productions.

The Philippines has more than three million hectares of drylands distributed in Northern Luzon, Central Visayas, and Southern Mindanao. Specifically, the dryland areas include Regions 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 12, and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). These are inhabited by five million households, most of whom are poor and dependent on dryland farming.

The 20 million poor people who live in the drylands are, at their most, risk living in a farming condition that is vulnerable to drought, pest infestation, poor and degraded soils, and lack of physical infrastructures and social services.

In terms of funding, Dir. Eleazar noted that dryland agriculture is one of the most neglected sectors given that it contributes 40 percent to the total food production of the country. Over the past three decades, he said, the bulk of the agricultural RD&E investments as well as policy support and infrastructure development had mostly favored irrigated and lowland farming, neglecting poor people who live in the drylands.

Developing national RD&E agenda for dryland agriculture
Crucial to sustainably managing drylands in the country is to first identify the challenges and constraints to agricultural and economic production and provide alternative livelihood options to the dryland communities.

Thus, there is a need to define a medium- and long-term national RD&E agenda for dryland agriculture in the Philippines. This will serve as the platform and unified scheme in planning and prioritizing R&D to efficiently identify strategies and prospects vis-à-vis the emerging issues and concerns of the dryland sector.

After assessing the contemporary situation of Philippine dryland agriculture and recognizing its contribution to its total agricultural production, participants in the two-day conference identified eight challenges and constraints that the RD&E agenda must immediately addressed. These are land degradation, low soil fertility, water scarcity, climate change, poverty/farmers' low income, poor institutional linkages, foods/feeds safety and nutrition, and insufficient technical knowledge.

Scientists and experts from ICRISAT and CRIDA listen to the presentations.

Introducing PhilDRI
Consequently, after a national RD&E agenda for dryland agriculture has been identified, there is a need for a proactive research organization that will generate and adopt appropriate innovations to improve the livelihoods of poor dryland communities and that can serve as a first line of defense against drought and climate change.

Thus, a proposal on the establishment of the first-ever dryland R&D institute in the country, the Philippine Dryland Research Institute (PhilDRI), which was presented in the conference by Dr. Santiago R. Obien, senior technical adviser of BAR.

According to Obien, PhilDRI will be organized to coordinate, strengthen, and unify all dryland agriculture and biofuel researches and technologies to improve the livelihoods of resource-poor dryland communities. The institute is envisioned to serve as the venue for relevant, timely, and proactive modern agricultural research for development.

Establishing PhilDRI will be the country's proactive response against the vagaries of drought and climate change. It is also through the establishment of this institute that the Philippines will improve the livelihoods of the poor communities in the drylands by developing cutting-edge technologies and innovations.

An Executive Order (E.O.) on the establishment of PhilDRI earlier drafted was refined during the conference. Among the key issues addressed and discussed were R&D requirements, communication and social mobilization for establishment, and organization and management scheme for PhilDRI.

India is considered as the leader in dryland agriculture working with the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) in conducting basic and strategic researches specific on dryland agriculture. As such, BAR has collaborated with ICRISAT in laying the groundwork for the establishment of PhilDRI.

A group of scientists and experts from ICRISAT and CRIDA was invited to present papers and share their experiences in dryland research, including new science tools for upgrading rainfed agriculture for improved livelihoods, collaborative R&D projects between ICRISAT and the Philippines, and India's experience in dryland agriculture RD&E.