THE Philippines is set to send 15 scholars to the United States to pursue higher education and help advance the government’s strategy to tranform the country’s agriculture and fishery sector.

This was made through the Fulbright Philippines Agriculture Scholarship Program (FPASP) and a memorandum of agreement (MoA) signed between the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Philippine-American Educational Foundation (PAEF) on Tuesday.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar and PAEF Board Chairperson Philip Roskamp formalized the partnership that paves the way for financing studies in degree and non-degree programs in the United States.

Dar highlighted the importance of investment in human capital development in the agriculture sector. “I have always believed in investing in people. For any initiative to succeed, you will always have to depend on the person you are giving the responsibilities to.”

The FPASP has a budget of P35 million, Fulbright PhilippinesPAEF Board Executive Director Julio Amador 3rd said. The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) will be allocating about $1.3 milion for agriculture-related studies in the next three to five years, he added.

The scholarship program covers academic year (AY) 2022-2023, AY 2023-2024, and AY 2025-2026.

The PAEF will set the operational guidelines on recruitment, evaluation, interview and selection of candidates in accordance with Fulbright competition principles.

The FPASP is the product of collaboration between PAEF and the DA’s Agricultural Training Institute (ATI). The scholarship program grants scholars stipends consisting of monthly maintenance allowance, books and supplies allowance, health and accident insurance, and roundtrip international airfare.

Visiting/researching scholars are also entitled to monthly stipends and professional development fees, settin in and in-transit allowance, and grants for Travel Program Evaluation, including its local travel costs, accommodation, and individual stipend and insurance.

The FPASP was first established through a MOA signed by former agriculture secretary Edgardo Angara to address the urgency of developing the human resource base of the country’s agri-fishery sector, as provided for in the Republic Act 8435 or the “Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act.”

Since its establishment in 1999, the program has supported 143 scholars, 84 of whom have obtained their M.S. degrees and 30 their Ph.D. degrees. Twenty-nine more scholars have conducted advanced research, including doctoral dissertation research in agriculture and fisheries.