Food and Fertilizer Technology Center - News

FFTC’s five Executive Board (EB) members who attended the Center’s 106th Board Meeting on December 7, approved 15 project proposals, including 8 workshop projects, 4 network projects, one TAC meeting and two regular programs for 2022. After FFTC Director Dr. Su-San Chang and Deputy Director Dr. Tomonari Watanabe took turns in presenting FFTC’s main accomplishments and performance for the year, Deputy Director Dr. Watanabe presented the list of proposed projects for 2022 which includes topics for workshops on climate change and food system, innovations in sugarcane research, healthy soil-plant interaction, intelligent production system for seeds and seedlings, livestock industry and aquaculture, circular agriculture for sustainable healthy diets, tropical fruit value chains for global markets and strategies for the industrialization of smart agriculture. Aside from these approved 8 workshop projects, the FFTC EB also approved the continuation of the 4 network projects: FFTC Agricultural Policy Platform (AP), the Dragon Fruit (DFNet), the Soil Testing/Plant Analysis Proficiency Testing (PT) and the Knowledge Management (KM) Projects. All 12 projects as well as the regular projects are aligned to FFTC’s Strategic Action Plan (SAP) for 2021-2024. These projects were also recently approved for endorsement by the FFTC Working Group in a meeting held on November 9.

This year Dr. Reynaldo Ebora, Executive Director of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquaculture Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD), and a member of FFTC’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), joined the meeting as an online observer. As a TAC representative, Dr. Ebora said the TAC members appreciate the Center’s efforts in effectively collaborating with all its partner institutes and agencies in different countries. He commented that FFTC’s networking activities are very remarkable and lauded the Center’s agricultural policy platform. None of these he said could have materialized without the strong leadership of Director Su-San Chang and the hardworking efforts of her efficient staff.

Mr. Mitsuaki Hoshino, Chief Deputy Representative of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, is this year’s Acting Chairperson of the Executive Board. Other EB members present during the meeting include Mr. Vincent Lin, Director General of COA’s Department of International Affairs (representing COA Minister Chi-Chung Chen), Mr. Soon-Chang Hong, Deputy Representative, Korean Mission in Taipei, Mr. Wifredo Fernandez, Chairman and Representative of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) and Mr. Nguyen Manh Thao, who represented Mr. Nguyen Anh Dong, Representative of the Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei (VECO). Other observers and guests present during the meeting are: Mr. Nobuyuki Shikasho of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, Ms. Maria Bettina Fernandez and Ms. Irene Joan Tan of MECO, and Mr. Jason Chun-I Liu of the COA.