Filipino agricultural engineers and their counterparts from South East Asia recently convened in Manila for the third ASEAN Conference on Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ACABE – 3).
The Philippines will host this is in conjunction with the 3rd Regional Forum on Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Asia and the Pacific (RFSAM-AP) and the 11th Session of the Technical Committee of the Center for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization (CSAM).
Guided by the theme “Human Resource Development for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization,” the RFSAM-AP and ACABE-3 support the implementation of the Agricultural and Fisheries Mechanization Law, Philippine Agricultural Engineering Competitiveness Road Map 2013-2020.
The conference specifically upholds the international alignment of the Philippine Agricultural Engineering Profession in Asia and the Pacific as well as the ASEAN Cooperation Agreement on Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Framework in support of ASEAN Integrated Food Security Framework and Strategic Plan of Action on Food Security 2015-2020.
One of the highlights of the RFSAM-AP and ACABE-3 is the Country Report of the 20 Asia Pacific nations on the respective updates/status of their Agricultural and Fishery Mechanization and Engineering Program in their locality.
According to Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala, the events, will serve as an opportune time for the Agricultural Engineering Units and Agricultural Engineers of the Department of Agriculture to meet and forge collaboration with their counterparts in ASEAN and in Asia and the Pacific.
The events are organized by the UNESCAP-CSAM, ASEAN Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Coordinating Committee, Board of Agricultural Engineering of the Professional Regulation Commission, College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology of the University of the Philippines – Los Banos, Department of Agriculture through the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries – Agricultural and Fisheries Mechanization Committee, Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization and Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering, Central Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering Division and the Philippine Society of Agricultural Engineers. (DA)