Summary

With support from the Sida-funded Vietnam Agroforestry Capacity-Building (VACB) Project, ICRAF-Philippines invited 14 Vietnamese scientists, educators and managers to participate in a Roving Workshop on Conservation Farming on Sloping Lands during November 1-8, 1998 in northern Mindanao, Philippines. The Vietnamese group represented 13 institutions—ministries, provincial departments, national research institutes and universities—from different parts of the country.

During the workshop, the Vietnamese joined ICRAF colleagues from the Philippines, Indonesia, Kenya and Malawi, and interacted with key Philippine colleagues actively engaged in conservation farming research and dissemination work. (Please see Annexes 1, 2 and 3 for the workshop program, list of participants and participant profiles, respectively.)

The group visited conservation farming sites in Claveria, Mindanao to gain new knowledge on technical and institutional innovations jointly developed and supported by farmers, local government units and ICRAF.

Papers and case studies on various aspects of conservation farming on sloping lands in Vietnam were presented during the workshop (summaries of the papers are in Annex 4). The group also had the opportunity to do some brainstorming and planning on conservation farming research, training and dissemination activities that could be supported by the VACB project in Vietnam in 1999.