Regional Coordinating Unit - Southeast Asia Program

June – December 2000

Activities Undertaken

1. Finalization of PPB/PVS T-line proposal
2. Monitoring visit to partners
3. Disbursement of funds
4. Assistance to partners in finalizing national proposals
5. Assistance to partners in finalizing technical reports

Results

1. Finalization of PPB/PVS T-line Proposal
The Southeast Asia Regional Institute for Community Education (SEARICE) being the focal point for the T-line on PPB/PVS, the RCU was responsible for finalizing the proposal for this T-line. Earlier, SEARICE had organized the CBDC global workshop on PPB/PVS in the Philippines in May 2000. Mostly all the CBDC partners, except for RAFI attended the workshop. The workshop had identified and leveled off on the common elements and indicators that would guide the CBDC partners in implementing activities and analyzing results related to PPB/PVS. After that workshop, RCU worked on finalizing the proposal for the T-line. The proposal consisted of the rationale, objectives and workplan for the T-line. The proposal will guide SEARICE’s role as the focal point in coordinating the activities in this T-line.

Essentially, the proposal focused on harmonizing and coordinating the activities and methods being undertaken by different partners with regard to PPB/PVS. The proposal identified activities that can be undertaken by T-line partners such as workshops and information exchange. SEARICE as the focal point will facilitate these activities and work to achieve programme-level harmonization of the T-line.


2. Monitoring Visits to Partners
The RCU had several visits to the national projects of Thailand and Vietnam during this period. The visits were mainly intended to assist the national projects finalize their proposals and workplans for the second phase. The visits also discussed the financial status of each of the projects and saw how the projects could continue operating in light of financial constraints of the CBDC programme at that time. In addition, the RCU facilitated an orientation on the use of popular education methodologies as a training approach for the project. Pop-ed methods are interactive approaches that facilitate active and lively participation of farmers. These methods can be useful to support the training of farmers in PPB/PVS.

The RCU staff also had the opportunity to visit some of the project sites and to discuss with farmer-partners. The RCU observed some ongoing on-farm activities of the projects such as varietal evaluation and breeding lines selection. Farmers also shared their experiences and evaluation in doing these on-farm experiments. The RCU noted the enthusiasm of the farmers in doing breeding and selection activities and learned of the growing interest of other local institutions with what the projects are doing.


3. Disbursement of funds
Despite the financial constraints, the RCU had facilitated the release of funds to partners in support of the limited activities in the field and administrative operations of the project. The funds were loaned from SEARICE.


4. Assistance to Partners in Finalizing the National Proposals
During its monitoring visits, the RCU helped review and made recommendations on the proposals and plans of the partners for the second phase. The RCU discussed with the partners the agreements reached during the PPB/PVS T-line workshop as guide in identifying possible activities and in finalizing their workplans. The RCU and partners referred to the common elements and indicators of the T-line to review the objectives and proposed workplans of the projects. The RCU also looked at the plans for the other T-lines being participated in by the projects, such as seed supply systems, gender, and mainstreaming. The RCU ensured that activities in the other T-lines related well and harmonized with the PPB/PVS, being the flagship T-line of the CBDC programme. The RCU also suggested specific activities and case studies that the projects could undertake that would support the overall objectives of the projects. Later on when the CBDC Program Coordinating Committee requested a scaling down of activities and budgets for all the partners due to funding constraints, the RCU followed up and provided guidance to the partners in revising their activities and budgets. The RCU compiled and submitted the revised plans and budgets of the region to the Global Coordinating Unit.


5. Assistance to Partners in Finalizing the Technical Reports
During the first phase of the CBDC programme, the partners in the region produced technical reports from their on-farm researches. These reports covered different research areas such as PGR conservation and development, local knowledge system, and seed supply system. However, the region was not able to publish these reports yet. The RCU facilitated the review and editing of these reports to prepare for their publication. The RCU had hired the services of a technical editor to edit the reports. The edited reports were returned to the partners for revision and finalization. Once the contents of the reports are finalized, the RCU will make the final lay-out of the reports and have them printed for dissemination.

Problems Encountered

Summary