Pinoys play key role in international agri research system

Top Filipino research administrators and scientists continue to play key roles in the international agricultural research system.

Over the years, the highly educated and experienced Filipino research managers and scientists have been taking lead responsibilities in a number of international agricultural research centers (IARCs) under the umbrella of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

Washington, DC, USA-based CGIAR is a strategic alliance of 16 IARCs (now formally called Future Harvest Centers or FHC), 58 members (including 22 developing and 21 industrialized countries), investors, and hundreds of partner-organizations that mobilize science to benefit poor people.

CGIAR cosponsors include the World Bank, United Nations and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO), UN Development Program (UNDP), UN Environment Program (UNEP), and the European Union.

The FHCs generate knowledge that is helping increase food production, improve health, and preserve biodiversity and natural resources worldwide.

At present, several Filipinos are holding key positions in the CGIAR system.

Topping the list is Dr. William D. Dar, former agriculture secretary who is now director general of the India-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

Dr. Dar, 48, the founding director of the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) and one-time vice president of the Benguet State University (BSU), is the first Filipino to head a Future Harvest Center.

He had earlier served as member of the Board of Trustees of another CGIAR center–the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico. He was also a member of the board of the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

Another internationally known Filipino scientist is Dr. Emil Q. Javier, former UP System president and now chairman of the CGIAR Technical Advisory Council (TAC, now Interim Science Council). Composed of 13 leading scientists from developing and developed countries, TAC sets research priorities and strategies of the CGIAR centers and assesses the quality and impact of the centers' programs.

Dr. Javier, who is serving a five-year term (until 2003) as chairman of the influential CGIAR body, had earlier served as Science Minister and director general of the Taiwan-based Asian Vegetable research and Development Center (AVRDC), a CGIAR associate center.

He was a also senior scientist of the Netherlands-based International Service for National Agricultural research (ISNAR), one of the CGIAR FHCs.

Another top-ranking CGIAR center official is Dr. William Padolina, now deputy director general of the Los Baños-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

Dr. Padolina, former Science and Technology Secretary, succeeded another internationally known scientist – Dr. Fernando A. Bernardo, one-time university president and director of the Los Baños-based SEAMEO Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).

The present science adviser of the CGIAR Secretariat is Dr. Manuel Lantin of the World Bank.

Dr. Lantin, former Agriculture Undersecretary and UP Los Baños professor, now provides advice and support to the Secretariat; contributes to systemwide efforts in the area of information and public awareness; and strengthens scientific and programmatic linkages between the CGIAR system and its partners.

An outstanding lady scientist, Dr. Gelia T. Castillo, has also served as member of the Board of Trustees/Governing Boards of four CGIAR centers, namely: ISNAR, International Potato Center (CIP, Peru), International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI, France), and International Center for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF, Kenya).

Dr. Castillo, a National Scientist, is UPLB professor emeritus and an Academician of the prestigious National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), the government’s highest advisory and recognition body on science and technology.

Now serving as regional director for Asia, the Pacific, and Oceania (APO) of IPGRI is Dr. Percy Sajise, former SEAMEO SEARCA director and one-time college dean at UPLB. He directs and manages technical and administrative activities of the IPGRI regional office.

Dr. Pons Batugal is currently senior scientist of the IPGRI-APO and coordinator of the Malaysia-based IPGRI-International Coconut Genetic Resources Network (COGENT). He has earlier served as CIP coordinating scientist, manager for Institutional Development of SEAMEO SEARCA, and UPLB assistant professor.

Two Filipinos also are now with ICRISAT. They are Dr. Rex Navarro, head of the center’s Information Resource Management Program; and Dr. Ma. Cynthia Bantilan, global theme leader.

Dr. Navarro is former director of the DA-Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) and director of the UPLB Institute of Development Communication.

Other Filipinos have at one time or another also played leadership roles in the CGIAR system.