The Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), together with government agencies, has conducted a one-day program to present the data they had obtained from the studies they have conducted in Palau in the last two years that will help balance agricultural development and environment conservation in the country.
JIRCAS Tropical Agriculture Research Front Director Dr. Hide Omae told Island Times in an interview during the sidelines of the program yesterday at the Palau Community College (PCC) Assembly Hall that the five-year project dubbed as the “Development of Sustainable Resources Management in Palau” is now on its mid-term and it is conducted in partnership with the Environmental Quality Protection Board (EQPB), the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment, and Tourism (MNRET), and PCC.
Since the study commenced in 2016, around 10 experts from Japan had worked with local and other foreign experts to conduct different research works focusing on agricultural development and environment conservation.
Omae said that two of the concerns they are trying to address with the program is the watershed management in Ngerikel and Ngerimel Dams, the two main sources of water supply in Palau, and the soil erosion in agricultural areas.
Water shortage especially during drought season poses a challenge in the agricultural industry of Palau, according to Omae, especially as production is reliant on it.
Among the works they did was to create a waterproof equipment that could help them evaluate how much water could be utilized for drinking and agricultural productions.
Omae also pointed out that some agricultural activities in Palau led to soil erosions which eventually affect the corals.
Omae underscores the need for Palau to develop sustainable agricultural production in an environmental-friendly way.
“We should do the agricultural production in a more sustainable way because I understand that Palauans are aware of the importance of environment, that’s why we should balance agriculture development and the environment,” Omae said.
Meanwhile, Program Director Satoshi Tobita also said in the same interview that the most important point of the project is to help Palau increase its agricultural productivity without compromising environment conservation.
According to Omae, Palau’s agricultural industry has great potential. He also shared that during the Japanese rule in Palau from the 1921 to 1945, agricultural production contributed a lot in the country’s industry. (Rhealyn C. Pojas)