The second phase of the project

The second phase of the project, commenced in late 2004 and concluded in June  2007. It built on the platform of Landcare established by the project partners in Mindanao before and during the first phase of the project from 1999 to 2004. See About the first phase of the project.

This phase represented a larger investment from the Australian Government with co-funding from both ACIAR and AusAID. The project largely maintained the partnership of the first phase (Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries - Queensland Government; University of Queensland; World Agroforestry Centre - ICRAF; and SEAMEO Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture – SEARCA), but with an additional Philippines partner in the form of the NGO, CRS-Philippines (Catholic Relief Services). Two new sites (Bohol in the Visayas and Agusan del Sur in Mindanao) were added to the existing three Mindanao pilot sites from the first phase (Misamis Oriental, Bukidnon, and South Cotabato).

The main focus of the second phase of the project was researching the most appropriate ways of sustaining the Landcare effort at the existing sites, as well as expanding the program to the new sites of Bohol and Agusan del Sur. Particular attention was directed to analysing the most appropriate institutional support structures for Landcare, with a view to developing an existing or new NGO-type agency to take responsibility for the long-term sustainability of Landcare beyond the end of the project.

Research was also directed to finding the most appropriate ways of facilitating the self-sufficiency of various Landcare entities such as Landcare groups, municipal Landcare associations and farmer training groups, as well as further quantifying the economic, social and environmental impacts of the Landcare program.

The new phase involved over 25 personnel from the five Australian and Philippines partner agencies.The photo shows the project team at its inaugural planning meeting in Cagayan de Oro City (Misamis Oriental) in February 2005.

In early 2006, a new Philippines partner, the University of the Philippines Los Banos—National Crop Protection Center, was added to the partnership. Its role was to help landcare groups improve farmer livelihoods through increasing the adoption of high value vegetable crops. This process was tested at the Bukidnon and South Cotabato sites with a focus on better pest management, use of biofumigation for disease control and improved access to better planting material.