During the Fourth International Conference on Conservation Agriculture in South-East Asia (CA-SEA 4) held in Battambang, Cambodia, December 9-13, 2013 several important contacts were made on behalf of InnovATE. Dr. Tom Hammett of Virginia Tech spent the day in the field visiting farmers with Dr. Waded Cruzado, President, Montana State University-Bozeman & BIFAD board member, and Dr. Mark Varner, of APLU headquarters in Washington, DC. He also was able to spend a full day in the field with Bill Bradley and Sambath Sak, USAID Senior Agricultural Economist from the USAID Cambodia Mission visiting field trial sites for the SANREM Project.
InnovATE also cultivated a relationship with VT faculty member Dr. Megan O’Rourke. Dr. O’Rourke has extensive experience working with USAID in Cambodia and is a valuable contact for the program.
Dr. Hammett also led a focus group to identify obstacles and solutions: setting priorities for HCID in conservation agriculture in SE Asia – the goal being to expand the adoption of conservation agriculture in the region. Among the participants were: Jean-Claude Legoupil, Director of CIRAD Research Unit on Conservation Agriculture and Systems Engineering, Ms. Sieng Emtotim, Rector of the University of Battambang (UBB), Cambodia, and Dr. Visalsok Touch, Cambodia’s Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport.
