SEAFDEC/AQD Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center | Aquaculture Department
By Development Communication Section
To ensure relevance of its R&D program, AQD held its annual “In-house review and planning meeting” from 19 to 20 September at its main station in Iloilo. In attendance were AQD’s partners (BFAR-National Fisheries Research & Development Institute and DOST-PCAARRD) and AQD’s senior staff. This meeting was preceded by two meetings, on commodities and on thematic programs that were held in August, for updates on the industry and R&D status of important commodities and the progress of individual research projects. The meetings also ensure that R&D activities address the needs of the industry.
“AQD is in the position to help national governments in addressing food security,” noted AQD Chief Dr. Felix Ayson. “We have carefully generated science-based technologies in aquaculture. There is always a stamp of AQD in the region.” He summarized the topmost strategies as follows: (1) Technology extension in situ, where AQD provides the inputs like feeds and in return gets the needed data on feed performance and environmental parameters during the culture period while the private sector partner provides the operational funds, fingerlings, staff and gets the proceeds. (2) Closer cooperation and information sharing among staff to enable AQD to raise the public’s awareness of science-based technologies. And, (3) Securing more R&D grants to work with institutions having similar vision of sustainable aquaculture and avoid duplication of efforts.
