Philippines

Overview

Australia's support to the Philippines focuses on collaborative research and capacity development that will improve productivity, competitiveness and sustainability of agri-food systems for human, environmental and economic resilience, for mutual benefit.

ACIAR projects form part of the Australian overseas development assistance program. We work closely with the Philippine Government, universities, research organisations, NGOs and industry towards their priorities of inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

Country priorities

Boost agricultural productivity through sustained improvements in soil health
Improve biosecurity, food safety and on-farm productivity through integrated crop and livestock management, improved post-harvest storage and management, disease and pest management
Promote inclusive agri-food value chains for sustainable livelihood and income generation
Improve sustainability and biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems to enable sustainable food production.

To amplify results across all research areas, we aim to:

Enhance resilience of agri-food systems through adaptation to climate variability and climate change
Improve gender equity
Build scientific and policy capability of individuals and partner institutions
Promote R&D results and utilisation through policy advocacy, science communications and technology transfer.

Active projects by program area

Southeast Asia coral larval restoration network

FIS/2024/120

Benchmarking mango breeding and genomics

HORT/2024/122

Developing soil knowledge, information and capacity to improve the productivity and sustainability of key cropping systems in Philippines

SLAM/2023/146

Opportunities and constraints for growth of smallholder dairy value chains in the Philippines

AGB/2023/192

Enhancing marine environmental governance in Indonesia and the Philippines

FIS/2023/185

Indo-Pacific Initiative for Sustainable Animal Health Cooperation (IPI-SAHC)

LS/2022/143

Scoping the opportunity for urban and peri-urban agricultural development in Southeast Asia

HORT/2023/147

Managing heavy metals and soil contaminants in vegetable production to ensure food safety and environmental health in the Philippines

SLAM/2020/117

Assessment of the adoption and adaptation of conservation agriculture and direct seeded rice in South and Southeast Asia

SLAM/2022/172

Policy support to the Philippines’ National Surveillance and Control Programs

LS/2022/162

Institutional effectiveness of coral reef restoration

FIS/2021/112

Agribusiness-led inclusive value chain development for smallholder farming systems in the Philippines (IVC Philippines)

AGB/2018/196

Regional coral restoration networks and appropriate technologies for larger-scale coral and fish habitat restoration in the Philippines and Australia

FIS/2019/123

An Integrated Management Response to the spread of Fusarium wilt of Banana in Southeast Asia

HORT/2018/192

Country manager

Hazel Aniceto

Contact

Hazel leads the country office team in the Philippines. She is responsible for facilitating the in-country elements of ACIAR programs and project cycles, contributing to country strategies, building networks, brokering and maintaining partnerships and communicating ACIAR project and program results.

Before joining ACIAR, Hazel was a Senior Technical Adviser with the USAID Science, Technology, Research, Innovation for Development Program. Among other previous roles, Hazel spent a significant part of her career as Portfolio Manager with AusAID and DFAT and in senior management roles with the private sector and various Overseas Development Assistance programs. Hazel has an Economics degree from the University of the Philippines and a Diploma in Government conferred by the Australian Public Service Commission.