Three projects on bamboo and climate-smart initiatives, which were offshoots of the collaboration between Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) and the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Thailand, were approved for funding this year.
The collaboration with AIT is a result of the Global Technology and Information Search (GTIS)/Benchmarking activity on the best practices in S&T administration for improved management and utilization. This was conducted by PCAARRD Deputy Executive Director for Administration, Resource Management, and Support Services Melvin Carlos and his team on June 25, 2019. The collaboration resulted in a memorandum of agreement that was officially signed on September 28, 2020.
The three offshoot projects are the following: 1) Enhancing the Adoption and Transfer of the Phenology-based Bamboo Mapping Technology and GIS-based Suitability Mapping of Potential Areas Suitable for Commercial Bamboo in Selected Areas in the Philippines implemented by the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-ERDB) with Dr. Jose Alan A. Castillo as project leader; 2) Mainstreaming of Bamboost App as an Online Marketing Platform of Bamboo Farmers in Select Science & Technology Community-Based Farms (STCBF) of the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (USTP) Cagayan de Oro and Technology Transfer and Promotion Division (TTPD) of DOST-PCAARRD, jointly led by Prof. Jhoye Jhoye M. Raboy and Ms. Analiza C. Diaz; and 3) Implementation of S&T-based Climate-smart Soil and Water Management in the Highlands of Maguindanao by Mindanao State University (MSU) Maguindanao with Dr. Raquel D. Santiago-Arenas as the project leader.
These three projects will be monitored by TTPD of DOST-PCAARRD.
“I am pleased to see that through this partnership we already have three approved projects to be implemented in collaboration with AIT experts. For me personally, this is a good start and a planting of seeds for future success,” said Dr. Carlos.
Dr. Nophea Sasaki, Head of the Department of Development and Sustainability of the School of Environment, Resources and Development at AIT was pleased with the outcome of the partnership. “I am happy about the activities, in terms of the projects approved for funding and implementation, and in terms of the achievements of AIT alumni and students who are involved in this collaboration. I am personally excited about the Bamboost App. It is a project that we believe can help the local people and help address climate change issues in the future. I hope to see the app running soon.”
Meanwhile, TTPD Director Noel A. Catibog assured AIT of the Council’s support. “This is a very good start and there’s a lot of promise on what more can be done through the projects and the AIT-PCAARRD collaboration. We would like to assure you of PCAARRD’s support and we hope for a smooth flow of project implementation,” he said.
To formally launch and start the projects, an inception meeting was held on November 17, 2021. TTPD, the monitoring division of DOST-PCAARRD and AIT attended the meeting, facilitated by Ms. Rubiriza DC. Resuello, Science Research Specialist at TTPD.