Organized by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Studies and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the UPLB Foundation, Inc. (UPLB-FI), this one-day Integration Workshop is the culminating activity of three Overseas Study Missions on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation (CCAM) Initiatives conducted in Vietnam (30 November-4 December 2015), Thailand (14-18 March 2016) and Indonesia (28 March – 1 April 2016) for DA AMIA participants and partners.
The Overseas Study Mission is one of the three main activities of the Technical and Managerial Capacity Building Component under the “Strengthening Adaptation and Mitigation Initiative in Agriculture” (AMIA Project 1) implemented by SEARCA and UPLB-FI. In her Welcome Remarks, Dr. Maria Celeste H. Cadiz, Program Head, Knowledge Management Department (KMD) and Capacity Building Component Leader, said that the conduct of Overseas Study Mission and the overall capacity building component for DA AMIA project 1 are very much aligned with SEARCA’s Umbrella Program on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation for Southeast Asia (CChAMSEA), which has been developed to serve as a platform for collaborative research and development (R&D), and knowledge management and capacity development (KMCD) on climate change adaptation and resiliency in Southeast Asia. She added that in as much as climate change is a shared phenomenon that transcends national boundaries, CChAMSEA seeks to identify priority areas of convergence and collaboration among partner institutions at the regional and sub-regional levels to work together, align, and harmonize goals and initiatives towards a more climate resilient agriculture in SEA. Under this umbrella program, SEARCA is working with five leading universities in Southeast Asia (Universitas Gadjah Mada and Institut Pertanian Bogor, Indonesia; Kasetsart University, Thailand; Universiti Putra Malaysia; University of the Philippines Los Baños); and Tokyo University of Agriculture (Tokyo NODAI); the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), CGIAR Regional Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
Ms. Rosario B. Bantayan, Program Specialist of SEARCA’s KMD-Training Unit and Overseas Training Facilitator and Coordinator, facilitated the integration workshop. Apart from facilitating the workshop, she also presented the highlights of the three Overseas Study Missions. To guide the participants in framing specific climate action plans and programs, Dr. Saturnina C. Halos, Consultant, DA; Mr. Joel S. Rudinas, External Monitoring and Evaluation Expert, DA-System Wide Climate Change Office (SWCCO); andMr. Romeo C. Royandoyan, Executive Director, Centro Saka, Inc/Alyansa Agrikultura, presented their draft policy recommendations at the national and local levels based on the Study Missions in Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia, respectively. The outputs of the Integration Workshop shall form part of the Final Report which will be submitted to the Department Agriculture for their consideration.
Participants to the Integration Workshop included representatives from the DA-Regional Field Offices (1, 2, 3, 6, 10, 11 and Negros Island Region), Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC), Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC), Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF), DA-System Wide Climate Change Office (DA SWCCO), International Institute for Rural Reconstruction (IIRR), Rice Watch and Action Network (RWAN) and the Local Government Units of Ivisan, Capiz and Miagao, Iloilo.
Ms. Imelda L. Batangantang, Program Specialist; Ms. Charisse B. Constantino and Ms. Maria Rossa Agatha J. Ermino, project staff of SEARCA’s Project Development and Technical Services Unit (PDTS), supported the coordination of the project.
