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Asian scientists open conference in Laguna
by Marjorie M. Arriola - Tuesday, 9 March 2010, 08:44 AM
 
Asian scientists open conference in Laguna
By Rudy A Fernandez
The Philippine Star
March 9,2010

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna , Philippines – Scientists from 11 Asian countries opened yesterday a conference to tackle weather-related problems caused by the El Niño phenomenon.

The delegates intend to put up a regional project dubbed as “FAO-SEARCA Research Study on the Impacts of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Events on Cereal Production, Area, and Yield in Asia.”

The Los Baños-based, Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization-Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEAMEO SEARCA) and the United Nations-Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO) organized the conference.

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) also assisted in the project.

The FAO-funded project seeks to examine the impact of ENSO on the production of three top staple foods in Asia - rice, wheat, and maize/corn, said Dr. Gil Saguiguit Jr., SEARCA director.

He said the research program aims to expand the number of countries and crops covered by the project by using a standard methodology “for ENSO-related researches.”

The project would help the agriculture sector release to the public the available estimates of ENSO impacts and identifying appropriate coping mechanisms.

David Dawe of FAO said the conference-workshop is the first of two meetings on the FAO-SEARCA project.

The project’s research component covers 11 Asian countries – Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

The three-day workshop that ends tomorrow would assist researchers on the impact of climate on cereal (rice, wheat, and maize) production.

The project’s outputs are expected to provide agricultural institutions and governments with comprehensive empirical data to guide them in crafting appropriate policies and programs to address the impacts of ENSO on agriculture in general, and on cereal production in particular.


Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=556332&publicationSubCategoryId=63

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