The USAID-funded Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (SANREM) project has been running for 14 years, and CQU’s Professor David Midmore has been involved in the project for the same duration.

Professor Midmore recently completed a 2-week visit to the Philippines and Vietnam, with Dr Robin Marsh of University of California Berkeley Campus.

The visit aimed to provide guidance on the setting up of small-scale irrigation plots and introduction of erosion mitigation practices for sloping land horticulture as part of Phase 3 for SANREM.

A major focus of the research is toward agroforestry - the growing of 2 or more species including trees on the same parcel of land.

Confined to their hotel for a day during the worst typhoon to home in on Manila in the past 2 decades, the visitors then spent 3 days in Northern Mindanao with growers, market agents and local researchers, before travelling to Vietnam for similar meetings and field work.

While most emphasis in the SANREM sites in Mindanao is on tree/annual vegetable combinations, in Vietnam it includes tree (cashew) with other perennials species (e.g. cacao).

The project is funded for 4 years - the first year having been completed in September 2006.

Photo (above): One-year old cacao plants beneath cashew in Bin Phuoc Province, Vietnam.

Photo (below): Professor Midmore and Dr Robin Marsh listen to local growers and officials in Bin Phuoc Province, Vietnam.