Philippine agriculture oversight team visits IRRI

Participants of the COCAFM briefing at IRRI

IRRI welcomed the members of the secretariat of the Philippines’ Congressional Oversight Committee on Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization (COCAFM), led by Executive Director Jocelyn Rodriguez-Badiola, on 18 July 2013 for a briefing on the Institute’s research, specifically on healthier rice.

COCAFM serves the agriculture and related committees, such as rural development and agricultural reform, of both the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines. Its mandate is to monitor the implementation of the Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization Act; oversee and monitor the implementation of the recommendations of the Congressional Commission on Agricultural Modernization as well as all programs and projects related to agriculture and fisheries; and provide legislative support.

Presentations on the following were given: IRRI and PhilRice's work to support the Philippines’ Food Staples Sufficiency Program, by V. Bruce J. Tolentino, IRRI’s deputy director general for communication and partnerships; PhilRice’s work, by Eufemio Rasco Jr., PhilRice executive director; and IRRI’s work on rice and a healthy diet by Inez Slamet-Loedin, IRRI scientist.

The COCAFM group also attended a seminar by Howarth Bouis on the work of HarvestPlus to increase the nutrition content of various crops, and had a chance to see Golden Rice grain samples.

Aside from mebers of the COCAFM Secretariat, other key officials attended included: Santiago Obien, representing Dante Delima, assistant secretary of the Department of Agriculture and director of the Rice Program; Ariel Gacayan, executive director of the National Agriculture and Fisheries Council; and Abraham Manalo of the Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines. Jimmy Tadeo and Romeo Royandoyan, senior leaders of the farming and NGO sectors, respectively, also came with the group.

View more photos here.

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