A project between PCAARRD and the Servicio Nacional de Sanidad y Calidad of Argentina will pave the way for the sharing of practices and technologies in the vegetable production chain between Argentina and the Philippines.
An offshoot of an agreement on technical cooperation between the two countries which was signed in Buenos Aires on August 24, 2011, the PCAARRD-SENASA project on vegetables aims to improve the quality and increase the production of crops of mutual interest. These crops include tomato, onion, cabbage, eggplant, squash, bean crops pole sitao, cucumber and garlic.
Corollary to the said project, a team of technical experts from Argentina visited laboratories and experimental farms on conventional and organic farming as well as project sites of PCAARRD regional partners. The visit provided them the opportunity to observe different farming, post-production, and marketing practices.
Laboratories and project sites visited by the team were those of Benguet State University (BSU) in La Trinidad, Benguet; Mariano Marcos State University in Batac, Ilocos Norte; University of the Philippines Los Baños-National Crop Protection Center; and the Bureau of Plant Industry –Los Baños, National Crop Research and Development Center, and even the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority in Quezon City.
The team was composed of Engr. Esteban Sampietro, coordinator of the Federal System for the Fiscalization of Agrochemicals and Biological Products; Engr. Daniel Mazzarella, technical consultant at the Office of Agrochemicals and Biological Products; and Sabina Zazo, communication expert at the Office of Hygiene and Safety of Products of Vegetable Origin and Feeds of SENASA.
Included in the PCAARRD-SENASA collaboration are four major areas of concern: biopesticides/integrated pest management; good agricultural practices; peri-urban agriculture; and policy issues in monitoring the minimum residual limit for the identified vegetables.
After the exploratory visit of two technical experts from the Philippines to Argentina and the discussion of the project proposal as required by Argentina, details of the collaboration will be finalized through the appropriate channels and protocols.