Spectrum - Volume 20 Issue 32 June 4, 1998 - OIRD wins bank-funded project

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OIRD wins bank-funded project

By Catherine Doss

Spectrum Volume 20 Issue 32 - June 4, 1998

Virginia Tech's Office of International Research and Development (OIRD) has won an integrated-pest-management (IPM) project in estate crops funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) with headquarters in Manila, Philippines. This is the first time OIRD has received a grant from ADB, which provides more than $3 billion in funds per year to developing countries in Asia.
The project includes an initial sub-grant to Virginia Tech of about $708,000 for three years. A private consulting firm in Asia, Madecor Group, is the prime contractor of the project, which is based in the Philippines. Madecor has offices in many countries in Asia, including Indonesia. IPM training is a significant component of the five-year project.
S.K. DeDatta, OIRD director and associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, will serve as the assistant project principal. He will be supervising the technical-review board that will be set up to coordinate technical inputs and suggestions.
"This is a significant success for OIRD and Virginia Tech because development banks such as ADB have stringent guidelines in awarding any contract," DeDatta said.
Elpidio L. Rosario, president of Madecor, will serve as the project principal. James E. Litsing, an entomologist and former colleague of DeDatta's at the International Rice Research Institute, will represent Virginia Tech and Madecor as resident team leader.
DeDatta said OIRD would continue to expand its initiatives in other fields such as education and targeted topics in other Southeast Asian countries.