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Photo Releases > National Dryland Agriculture RDE Conference
National Dryland Agriculture RDE ConferenceOxford Hotel, Clark Special Economic Zone, Pampanga
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| In a bid to sustainably manage the country’s dryland agriculture and contribute to poverty alleviation and social empowerment of its 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 “National Dryland Agriculture Research and Development and Extension (RD&E) Conference” |
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| BAR Director Nicomedes P. Eleazar welcomes and introduces the more than 100 participants from various government agencies, state university and colleges, representatives from the identified regions with dryland areas, and invited experts from ICRISAT and Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), India. He also provides the overview for the activity. With the theme, “Energizing Research, Development and Extension for Sustainable Dryland Agriculture Philippines”, the two-day confab sought to assess 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. |
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| DA Undersecretary Segfredo R. Serrano is the guest of honor who in his speech stressed the crucial role of the local government unit in the successful implementation of a national program for dryland agriculture. |
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| Providing the keynote address is ICRISAT Director General William D. Dar. In the presentation of Dr. Dar, he refers 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 to 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 drylands areas include Regions 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 12, and 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. |
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| Dr. Santiago R. Obien, senior technical adviser of BAR presents the proposal on the establishment of the first ever dryland R&D institute in the country, the Philippine Dryland Research Institute (PhilDRI). According to him, 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 Institution that we will improve the livelihoods of the poor communities in the drylands by developing cutting edge technologies and innovations. |
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| A group of scientists and experts from ICRISAT and CRIDA were 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. |
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| Participants of the conference were grouped into three during the workshop proper. |
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