On 8^th October, 2020, official team from the Department of Agriculture lead by Mr. Wangda Dukpa, (Chief, ARED) visited ARDC Bajo. The purpose of the visit was to get familiarized on the research related activities at the research centre and interact with researchers on the research processes.

At the centre, the team members were briefed by the Program Director on the relevant research activities initiated by the centre along with the recent updates through the presentation. After the presentation, the team also had interactions with the researchers and the following points were discussed:

• The Chief informed the house that there is pressure from BAFRA to strengthen the National Referral Seed Laboratory for production of quality seeds, so through Green Climate Fund, DoA has secured fund and the Laboratory will be strengthened soon.
• Realizing the mandates of NSC for mass production of seeds and seedlings in the country, the Research Centres are reminded to refrain from production of seeds and seedlings. However, ARDC Bajo has some obligation to supply planting materials for the dzongkhags under IHPP project; the centre shall continue the activity till the project ends.
• The qualities and standards of research conducted on the agriculture research have declined over the years. Therefore, to strengthen research system, it is imperative that the research centers should strictly follow the research ethics and protocol while conducting research. It is emphasized on the collection of quality research data to supplement the research finding that will facilitate smooth release of crop varieties.
• In order to improve the standard of research, the research centers should strengthen the Research Management Committee that will be responsible for validation of proposals, field implementation and data recording. The committed will also review the research papers for publication both at the national and international level, however, the papers for publication has to be submitted to DoA for peer reviewing.
• It was discussed that, the system of RCSC recognizing only the two first authors of any published paper for the purpose of promotion is unfair. It was discussed that the ARED team should put up the issue with RCSC for reconsideration. In addition, some issues on ODE were also discussed and it was informed that RCSC will have bilateral discussion with the Department and Ministry.

The meeting was followed by field visit to on-station research activities. The COVID-19 protocols were strictly followed during the meeting and field visit.