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Institutional Profile

When government agencies join together in collaborative efforts, great things can get accomplished that would not otherwise be possible.

There are many incentives for collaboration and networking among government agencies particularly those involved in the agriculture and fisheries sector. In the case of the Eastern Visayas Integrated Agricultural Research Center (EVIARC), its pioneers recognized early in the center's operations that they had to exert effort in building collaborative networks to ensure success in improving and sustaining the quality of life in rural communities that they serve.

History and Mandate

The story of EVIARC reveals a long history of name changing and turnovers of official overseers. It was originally founded on November 17, 1964 as the Visayas Abaca Experiment Station under the defunct Abaca Development Board. The station was later transferred to the Bureau of Plant Industry and was renamed as the Eastern Visayas Experiment Station and was again renamed later as the Romualdez Experiment Station with the reorganization of the then Ministry of Agriculture in 1980. By this time, the functions of the station were expanded into crop research and production of quality seeds and plant materials.

Going through another rationalization program in 1991, the station's name was changed anew to Research Outreach Station for Upland Farming Systems Development which would later be officially recognized as the main station of EVIARC.

The EVIARC is the research arm of the Department of Agriculture's Regional Field Unit in Region 8. With its main station located in Babatngon, Leyte, EVIARC is in itself an internal network composed of three RIARC Satellite Stations (RSS), six Technologically Advanced Agribusiness Demonstration Stations (TAADS), and six Integrated Regional Laboratory Services (IRLS) strategically located in the six provinces of Eastern Visayas, namely, Northern Samar, Western Samar, Eastern Samar, Biliran, Leyte, and Southern Leyte.

EVIARC's mandate is to serve as an effective instrument to consolidate and strengthen the regional agricultural R&D system for effectiveness and efficiency. It is likewise authorized to generate, adapt, and popularize agricultural production and processing technologies, and provide agricultural knowledge product and services for the uplifting of the living standards and productivity of farmers and processors in Eastern Visayas.

EVIARC envisions technologically-advanced farmers able to take on sustainable, self-sufficient and competitive crops and livestock industries in the region. Hence, EVIARC works hard at institutionalizing an R&D network that effectively responds to the technological needs of agricultural development and an evolving farmer-clientele across Eastern Visayas.

Strengthening the R&D network

Collaboration is one way of transferring knowledge and skills. As EVIARC learned along the way, however, their mandate requires not only scientific and technical expertise, but also the social and management skills needed to work as part of a team. Thus, they gave attention to developing approaches to teamwork as they actively engaged in collaborative activities.

As the lead agency of the Regional R&D/Extension Network for Agriculture and Fisheries (RRDEN), it gives particular attention to complementing initiatives and resources in setting up mechanisms for the implementation of the Regional Agriculture and Fisheries RDE Agenda and Program (RIRDEAP). The RIRDEAP serves as basis for R&D planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation for all RDE programs/projects in agriculture and fisheries in the region. In fact, EVIARC has already updated the region's medium-term RDE agenda and programs in consultation with its 24 member-agencies of the regional network composed of state universities and colleges in the region, local government units, and concerned government agencies.

Additionally, EVIARC believes that its strategic alliance and co-existence with the Visayas Consortium for Agricultural Resources Program as well as other regional networks has added significantly to its achieving greater and more relevant research and extension outputs.

EVIARC is pleased that, since 2004, the RDE programs, projects, and researches undertaken by the regional network has garnered more than 40 recognitions and awards at the regional, zonal, and national levels. Among their most recent recognitions is the 2009 National AFMA Best R&D Paper in the Applied Research Category from the National Research Symposium (NRS) which is conducted yearly by the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR). The recognized research is about available technologies for the management of jackfruit fruitfly. Jackfruit is one of the priority commodities of Region 8.

As a zonal R&D center for agriculture and fisheries in the Visayas (Regions 6, 7 and 8), it is important for EVIARC to promote collaborations and share resources through an effective communication system among the agricultural research centers in Visayas. Serving as the secretariat of the Visayas Zonal RDE Center for Agricultue and Fisheries (VZRDEC A/F), EVIARC adheres to the principle that the success of R&D initiatives depend on how deeply rooted is the process of demand identification of the research and the commitment level of the implementers concerned to address a particular research need as part of a long-term development agenda.

Benefits of collaboration

According to EVIARC, the increased capability of its networks over the years is testament to the enormous benefits generated by their collaborative initiatives. They have generated resources from different government institutions involved in agriculture and fisheries in the country as well as external funding from international organizations for its various R&D institutional development projects.

In 2009 alone, EVIARC reported that it implemented and coordinated 52 R&D projects and studies related to rice, corn, sorghum (biofuel), high value commercial crops, and livestock. According to EVIARC, of these 52 projects, 22 were funded by DA-BAR. These projects include 13 Community-based Participatory Action Research (CPAR), one of the banner programs of BAR.

EVIARC believes that collaboration and networking should be centered on improving access to and availability of agricultural knowledge products and technologies while improving the quality of life of rural residents. Thus, alongside intensified collaboration with its regional networks, the farmer-beneficiaries of CPAR were mobilized and their capabilities enhanced through their participation in trainings to improve their farming practices and use of improved farming technologies. Through these activities, the welfare gains of CPAR, which is mainly the increased production and profitability of the existing farming system in the region, are recognized by EVIARC.

Future prospects

In summary, EVIARC has shown that it's all about leveraging of resources to create economies of scale and efficient delivery of services to rural communities through effective collaboration and networks made possible by grants from different funding agencies in creating the desired effect. They recognize, however, that sustaining strong collaborations and creating strategic alliances and networks to keep the funds coming in more regularly will remain the biggest challenge in maintaining effective operations.

Looking forward, EVIARC hopes that through the latest DA Rationalization Program, it can attract a new generation of scientists and technologists that are able to provide the organization with the dynamism and capability to further propagate the positive contributions of EVIARC in addressing the region's agricultural needs and priorities.