Philippines and China Bilateral Programme in Agriculture and Related Fields

The Central Luzon State University (CLSU)-based Philippine-Sino Center for Agricultural Technology (PhilSCAT) in the Science City of Munoz, will resume its operation soon, to be of service once again to the Filipino farmers and possibly, to the fisherfolks. This was learned from the central office of the Department of Agriculture, which said that the Philippine government-approved Phase II of the bilateral programme, is now with the PROC's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) for final review, approval and funding prior to final endorsement to the Ministry of Agriculture, which is responsible for the program implementation. DA-PDS (Project Development Service) director Zenaida Villegas said, all we need to do is wait for the China's go-signal for this second phase of the programme. MOC may send a final evaluation team from MOA, and see if the Filipino proposal can be implemented en toto, or may be further modified. Once the Phase II is approved, its implementation and monitoring shall be taken care of by the Special Concerns and Management Assistance Division (SPCMAD) of DA.

Phase II of PhilSCAT's R & D program scope shall include the following: Commercialization of PhilSCAT Hybrid Rice Variety, Promotion and Advocacy of Agri-Mechanization, Freshwater Aquaculture and Rural Energy (Biogas) Generation. As in Phase I, additional infrastructure for PhilSCAT, which shall include a Chinese-designed Training hostel, shall be provided by the Chinese government. Maintenace and Operating Expenses (MOE) shall be shouldered by the Philippine government through the Dept of Agriculture.

It can be recalled that both the Filipino and Chinese evaluation teams which assessed PhilSCAT-I highly recommended for the continuous implementation of the Programme, as its impact to rice industry is quite evidenced. Phase I was under the directorship of CLSU professor Dr. Romeo B. Gavino.

The Philippine-Sino Center for Agricultural Technology (PhilSCAT) is a special R and D agency under the Department of Agriculture. It implements the collaborative program in agriculture and related fields between the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China, with Central Luzon State University (CLSU) as the lead implementor and the Bureau of Postharvest Research and Extension (BPRE), Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) as partners. PhilSCAT’s technology scope under Phase I (2003-2008) is Hybrid Rice and Agri-mechanization. (30)