MANOLO FORTICH, Philippines – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) attended the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)'s 10th Annual Country Programme Review (ACPoR) for the Philippines on 30 January to 1 February 2018 at the Dahilayan Forest Park Resort, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon. During the event, SEARCA presented its three IFAD-funded grant projects, which include the (1) Agricultural Transformation and Market Integration in the ASEAN Region: Responding to Food Security and Inclusiveness Concerns (ATMI-ASEAN) project, jointly delivered by Dr. Bessie M. Burgos, SEARCA's Program Head for Research and Development, and Mr. Jimmy B. Williams, Project Support Unit Coordinator for ATMI-ASEAN; (2) Supporting Smallholder Farmers in Asia and the Pacific Islands Region through Strengthened Agricultural Advisory Services (SAAS) project, shared by Dr. Lope B. Santos III, Unit Head for Project Development and Technical Services; and (3) Rural Regional Transformation: Pathways, Policy Sequencing, and Development Outcomes in China, the Philippines, and Vietnam (RRT) project, reported by Ms. Karen P. Quilloy, co-Project Leader for the RRT Philippine component.
With the theme Investments and Partnerships under the Approved IFAD Country Strategy, this year's ACPoR focused on sharing of experiences, innovations, and good practices and identifying policy and operational constraints from the implementation of the IFAD-assisted loan and grant programs and projects. The three-day event included a cooperative and farm visit; presentation of IFAD country programme report and strategy, loan and grant project reports; interaction with government oversight agencies; and group strategic workshops.
About 65 participants from different IFAD implementing partner institutions/organizations and government agencies attended the 10th ACPoR, which was hosted by the Department of Agrarian Reform under its IFAD-assisted project Convergence on Value Chain- Enhancement for Rural Growth and Empowerment (ConVERGE). At the end of the review, participants were able to develop concrete actions to improve the performance of individual programs and projects and the overall IFAD country strategy for the Philippines.