Japan is extending its assistance to the Philippines to develop a sustainable agriculture in the face of climate change and ecosystem degradation.
The Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) recently signed an agreement with the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) to develop and promote agricultural technologies to enhance production and improve natural resource management in the tropics.
The DA and the Japanese research agency agreed to develop approaches and technologies for carbon storage in farmland soils in the Philippines as a means to promote soil health and fertility and enhance sustainability and resilience in agriculture.
They also committed to study environmental conservation technologies for tropical islands through the “Yama-Sato-Umi” (“Mountain-Village-Sea”) perspective, which emphasizes the interconnectedness of land, sea and society.
The collaboration aims to seek ways to prevent soil erosion in hilly agricultural lands and reduce fertilizer inputs, and gather and analyze scientific evidence that can contribute to the conservation of mangrove ecosystems. It will also develop a basin model for the evaluation of environmental conservation effects on river water quality and quantity.
“These projects are supported and are very much in line with the National Soil Health Program, which is one of the top priority agenda of the DA to contribute towards sustainable management of soil and water resources as well as the productivity of the agriculture sector,” says BSWM Director Gina Nilo.
She added that as the national focal agency of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and Land Degradation (UNCCD), the bureau welcomes its collaboration with JIRCAS, especially since the agriculture sector is being riddled with the impacts of climate change and ecosystem degradation.
“Weather extremes due to climate change and environmental problems such as soil and nutrient runoff from farmlands and ecosystem degradation are of urgent concern in the country—affecting resources, agricultural productivity, and livelihood of our farmers,” she said.
“Since the agriculture sector is one of the major contributors to climate change through the emission of greenhouse gasses, there is a need to develop adaptation and mitigation technologies,” she added. DA News
The BSWM is the country’s sole national soil resource agency whose services include soil conservation and sustainable agricultural land management advocacy, soil resources assessment and mapping, agricultural water resources management, analytical services, and soil and water resources research and development.
JIRCAS president Koyama Osamu welcomed the agreement between the Philippines and Japan, saying it revitalized the 36 years of cooperation between the two countries, which led to the establishment of the Soil Research and Development Center Project in 1988.
“It is my sincere hope that the effort through our collaborative research projects will bring greater impacts to the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries and tropical islands and achieve sustainable food systems in the region,” Koyama said. DA News
