In response to the threat of the abaca bunchy top virus (ABTV) to the Philippine abaca industry, the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) will conduct an inception meeting on two abaca projects on October 5 at the Council’s C.B. Perez Room.
The incidence of abaca diseases, particularly ABTV, deserves attention because of its impact to the industry. More than 19,107 hectares are affected by the said disease in the Eastern Visayas alone. Hence, projects intended to provide solutions to this problem must be fast-tracked.
In the meeting, Project Leader Antonio G. Lalusin of the Crop Science Cluster-University of the Philippines Los Baños (CSC-UPLB) will present the project “Rehabilitation of abaca plantation through adoption of high-yielding and virus-resistant abaca hybrids”.
The two-year project aims to improve the quality of life and income of small abaca farmers by reducing losses due to ABTV and other viruses through the adoption of new bunchy top virus-resistant abaca hybrids It has a total budget of P30.64 million from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
On the other hand, Dr. Edgardo E. Tulin, project leader and vice president of the Visayas State University (VSU), will be presenting the project “Shelf-life study and commercial production of polyclonal antibody for ABTV”.
The project aims to determine the shelf-life and stability of the ABTV antisera and to produce them for commercial use. PCAARRD funds this P2-million project.
Expected attendees of the meeting are PCAARRD and DOST representatives, project leaders, and project collaborators from different state universities and colleges and line agencies.