Agricultural Counselor of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Morgan Haas paid an appreciation visit to the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) on September 2, 2021.
Part of the agenda of the visit is the discussion of DOST-PCAARRD’s initiatives on biotechnology and climate change.
USDA delegates, Counselor Morgan Haas and Agricultural Specialist Florence Sevilla were welcomed by DOST-PCAARRD Executive Director Reynaldo V. Ebora; Deputy Executive Director for Research and Development (R&D) Feliciano G. Calora, Jr.; Policy Coordination and Monitoring Division (PCMD) Director Lilian G. Bondoc; Crops Research Division (CRD) Officer-in Charge Allan B. Siano; Forestry and Environment Research Division (FERD) Director Leila C. America, and Industry Strategic Science and Technology Program (ISP) Manager on Climate Change Marcelino Siladan.
In his welcome message, Dr. Ebora explained that direct engagement between DOST-PCAARRD and USDA is quite limited. “We are hoping that we will be able to put up an institution-based program between DOST-PCAARRD and USDA and we are very much willing to have some collaborative work with you [USDA] in terms of providing some counterpart funds in areas of common interest,” he said.
To provide an overview of DOST-PCAARRD’s initiatives and to be able to identify common areas of interest, Dr. Siano presented DOST-PCAARRD’s projects and activities on biotechnology, while Dr. Siladan presented the Council’s initiatives on climate change including disaster-risk reduction and management.
Agricultural Counselor Haas recognized all the efforts and initiatives of DOST-PCAARRD on climate change and biotechnology. He also expressed his appreciation for the presentations because it provided a bigger picture of the depth and breadth of all the work of the Council.
After the discussion exchanges, Dr. Ebora expressed that he sees compatibility in terms of the possible areas of collaboration between DOST-PCAARRD and USDA. Agricultural Counselor Haas added that the challenge now will be the prioritization among the identified common areas of interest.
To initiate the DOST-PCAARRD and USDA collaboration, Dr. Ebora suggested, “Maybe we can sponsor a webinar together on certain common topics to expose our colleagues to the expertise that you have, especially coming from the USDA because I know the value of collaborating with your group – you will be able to have access to quality expertise.”
USDA committed to enhance its “virtual relationship” with DOST-PCAARRD, considering the limitations on face-to-face activities brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Counselor Haas, “You can always think of us as somebody who can support you in technical experts, speakers, particularly now that everything is virtual. I think it opens up the door for more collaboration because we don’t always have to be reliant on experts traveling here to engage and take advantage of technical experts around the world.”
Dr. Calora reiterated that DOST-PCAARRD is looking forward to conducting the webinar co-organized with USDA soon.