Highland research consortium plays key role in development of Cordillera

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – A government research consortium here continues to play a key role in the development of the Cordillera.

Over the past quarter of a century, the Highland Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (HARRDEC) has played a catalytic role in pushing farther the frontiers of research, development, and extension (RDE) in the northern Luzon highlands.

HARRDEC was established on Nov. 18, 1978, with Benguet State University (BSU) here as its base agency. It is now composed of 17 academic and RDE institutions in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

HARRDEC is one of the 14 government regional R&D consortia coordinated by the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCARRD).

Los Baños-based PCARRD is the government agency established in 1972 to coordinate, evaluate, and monitor agriculture, forestry, and natural resources research in the country.

Like the 13 other consortia, HARRDEC is substantially supported by PCARRD in terms of infrastructure, equipment and human resources, capability buildup, research grants, and annual budget for operation.

The consortium is mandated to improve agricultural productivity and enhance natural resources development in the Cordillera Administrative Region and other similar areas in the country, stressed HARRDEC director Dr. Leoncia Tandang.

She discussed "Status of R&D in CAR" at the "Science and Technology Reporting Workshop" conducted recently at BSU sponsored by BSU, DOST-CAR, and HARRDEC.

The workshop participants were 43 campus journalists and their advisers from BSU, Apayao State College (ASC), Mountain Province State Polytechnic College (MPSPC), and Abra State Institute of Technology (ASIST).

Other speakers were BSU president Dr. Cipriano C. Consolacion, DOST-CAR director Dr. Ben Ladilad, and BSU university/board secretary Grace Bengwayan.

Workshop resource person was Rudy A. Fernandez of The STAR.

Dr. Tandang said the regional flagship commodities that HARRDEC has been concentrating on are salad crops, strawberry, cutflower, banana, mango, and agroforestry/sericulture (pine tree, bamboo, coffee, tea, chayote, rattan, tiger grass, and livestock).

As of 2001, member agencies had pursued 181 research projects, 39 of which were completed.

The agencies and institutions that conducted RDE activities were BSU, MPSPC, ASIST, ASC, Ifugao State College of Agriculture and Forestry (ISCAF, Lamut), Kalinga-Apayao State College (KASC, Tabuk), Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI)-Baguio City, Department of Agriculture (DA)-CAR, DOST-Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI), DA-Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-CAR.

Other HARRDEC members are DOST-CAR, PCARRD, DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR), DENR-Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

Dr. Tandang said priorities in RDE in the coming years have been charted.

In vegetables and root crops, for instance, priorities are industry profile updates of these crops, clean planting materials, pests and diseases, postharvest technologies, processing and product development, and technology promotion.

Fruits RDE will focus on the production and conservation of clean planting materials of mango, banana, strawberry, and potato; integrated pest management (IPM), postproduction technologies; and soil and water management.

The biotechnology RDE program encompasses crops and ornamentals (carrots, cucumber, lettuce, chrysanthemum, roses), agroforestry (strawberry, banana, mango, Benguet Pine, Sangilo, coffee), Arabica, and livestock (poultry, swine, large ruminants, and small ruminants).

For integrated ornamental crops RDE, HARRDEC has envisioned a technologically advanced and sustainable cutflower and ornamental crop production in CAR with global competency, and a dynamic and strong inter-agency and private sector participation. Its objective is to establish a modernized and sustainable cutflower and ornamental crop production in the Cordillera.

Dr. Tandang concluded: "Other integrated RDE programs for other flagship commodities are being packaged. This is done by respective regional RDE and task force formed."