After a year of implementation, the Joint Coordination Committee of the Banana and Cacao Disease Management (BaCaDM) Project implemented under the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) initiatives of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), held its first in-person meeting on November 15, 2022, at the Tamagawa University (TU), Machida, Tokyo, Japan.
University President Edgar A. Orden led the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) team, together with Dr. Renato G. Reyes, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Principal Investigator, Dr. Jerwin Undan, Dr. Rich Milton Dulay, Dr. Garry Benico, Dr. Parsons Hail, project leaders, and Dr. Dionisio Alvindia, OIC Executive Director of the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization.
In his speech, President Orden expressed his gratitude to TU and JICA for the collaborative project and trust in CLSU.
“I am very happy to see that we are physically here (in Japan) to assess what we have accomplished,” President Orden said.
He also commended the CLSU team for the results of their research presented which transpired after a year of project implementation.
During the meeting, Dr. Reyes also presented the activities that took place which include virtual workshops and field collections, and the challenges they encountered and solutions made. While, Dr. Kyoko Watanabe, Principal Investigator of Japan Team discussed the ongoing accomplishments and directions of the project.
Project leaders presented their progress report which consisted of the banana and cacao cultivation practices, collection status, isolation, identification of fungi, and installation of artificial intelligence sensors in Mindanao and CLSU.
Moreover, Professor Dr. Kyoko Watanabe and Professor Dr. Koji Ishikawa will lead the two-week academic activity of faculty researchers at TU and JICA Office.
The coordination meeting was also attended by JICA Representative and SATREPS Research Supervisor.
The BaCaDM is a five-year collaborative research project between CLSU and TU that aims to develop and promote a technology system that will help farmers address major diseases in bananas and cacao.
