Proud moment for Filipino graduate

The first academic sponsored by local government in the Philippines will graduate from the University of Queensland on Thursday, August 14.

Aurelio Valdehueza, 39, will graduate as a Master of Agricultural Studies at a ceremony in the Mayne Hall at 6pm.

Lady Mayor Zosina Ng Legaspi of Mr Valdehueza's home island of Mindanao will fly from the Philippines for the proud occasion.

Mr Valdehueza is a municipal agriculture officer on Mindanao, the southernmost and largest island in the Philippines.

He is the only agriculture officer on the island, which is within the municipality of Kinoguitan and the province of Misamis Oriental.

Mr Valdehueza's aim is to increase the efficiency of the many organisations which receive government grants for agriculture and fisheries projects.

'They could definitely be more effective tools for the government to bring development into the area,' he said.

'We have lots of labor and lots of management resources, so if we make these organisations more viable the potential is there for money to no longer be a problem.'

Another priority is the introduction of irrigation to increase cash crops such as Lanzones, maize and coconuts.

'Then we have to do something about the problems of perishibility, marketing and financing,' Mr Valdehueza said.

One area where significant progress had already been made was in the area of fisheries, where the government had taken steps, such as the introduction of artificial reefs, to combat past overfishing.