AIP coaches provide guidance to the participants on pitching their agri-innovation projects.
Underscoring human-centric innovative solutions in the agri-food sector, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) trained 26 professionals from higher education and research institutions for the second iteration of the SEARCA Agri-Innovator Program (AIP). It was held online on 10–14 February 2025, followed by face-to-face sessions on 25–27 February at the SEARCA headquarters.
The SEARCA AIP, a nonformal and short-term training program aligned with the Center's 11th Five-Year Plan, welcomed participants from 17 participating institutions across Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The program sought to challenge ideation and execution methodologies of research breakthroughs with the potential use by a larger market in the agri-food industry.
In a series of online sessions, the AIP experts led interactive lectures and exercises covering design thinking, the business model canvas, forming a founding team, and navigating legal and regulatory compliance in agricultural innovation, among other key topics.
Associate Professor Joselito Florendo, SEARCA Deputy Director for Administration, implored participants to capitalize on the opportunity to engage with AIP coaches to define and refine their innovations and to appropriately translate their learnings into their teaching, research, and extension initiatives.
"Beyond expanding your reach to a wider market, AIP is about enhancing your knowledge and cultivating the mindset of an agri-innovator," Deputy Director Florendo said, emphasizing the critical role of universities and research institutions in setting the ground for breakthrough research, technological discoveries, and social innovations.
"We challenge you to become agri-innovators that your students and peers would be excited to emulate," he added.
Coaches and participants engage in exercises and discussions about income forecasting and projection.
Solution-oriented and demand-driven innovation
AIP Technical Coordinator, Ms. Julieane Camile Lacsina, lauded the evolution of all the participants' innovation ideas, taking into account the core of a human-centric design thinking process and a strategic and process-oriented approach to building a minimum viable product (MVP).
"This is how the innovation process should be—not starting from the top but rather from the demand, the problems in the field; it's an iteration process," said Ms. Lacsina, who also serves as CEO of GOEden, an agri-tech e-commerce startup.
In her talk, Ms. Lacsina reiterated that for startups to succeed, agri-innovators must move with a calculated risk while ensuring that products or services directly address the needs of the market. Underlining that "data is king," the AIP lead coach urged participants to rely on numbers to make informed decisions and develop a foresight for the future of the business.
"You can now take an educated decision on whether to preserve, pivot, or abandon your concept. Abandon early and pivot early, that's the key to a sustainable business," Ms. Lacsina advised.
The program culminated in a five-minute pitch session for each participating institution, which featured a wide range of themes—from digital maps for water systems to livestock daily living and occupational therapy, among others.
Mr. Ikhwanussafa Sadidan from the Universitas Singaperbangsa Karawang in Indonesia was adjudged the Best Pitch Presenter for their innovation on BRISMA (Briquettes with Aroma). While many established brands have already put out briquettes in the Indonesian market, Mr. Sadidan asserted that their team's innovation's comparative advantage lies in its added aroma featuring cinnamon, lemongrass, and eucalyptus, and the use of rice husks instead of the traditional coconut shells.
Numbers game for getting startup funding
Mr. Justin Guerrero, Founder of EasyTax, also delivered sessions on income forecasting and projection, including a two-hour exercise to prepare participants to understand their cost structures. As traction—not ideas—get funding, both Mr. Guerrero and Ms. Lacsina stressed that projections are crucial for identifying when and where to spend resources.
Kaya Founders' Investment Director and fellow coach Mr. Toby Floro affirmed the critical role of cash flow management in ensuring a successful startup. While there remains no perfect forecasting model and capital infusion approach, Mr. Floro maintained that participants need to develop the habit of monitoring their numbers, as most investors favor startups that demonstrate a strong understanding of their structures in the long run.
Other coaches who formed the six-panel agri-tech experts include Mr. Jim Leandro Cano, Co-Founder and Marketing Head at GOEden, and Mr. Thein Soe Min, Co-Founder and CEO at Greenovator in Myanmar. Mr. Leandro, Ms. Lacsina, and Mr. Guerrero provided technical expertise during the week-long virtual sessions before the face-to-face leg alongside Atty. Raymond Rodis, CEO of Startup Law PH, and Mr. Okka Phyo Maung, Co-Founder and Chief Finance Officer at RecyGlo, a waste management solution platform in Southeast Asia.
AIP participants received a Certificate of Completion after the three-day onsite sessions at SEARCA.
Paying it forward
As this year's AIP aimed at bolstering institutional capacities in agricultural and rural development in Southeast Asia, SEARCA accepted participants from diverse backgrounds, even budding researchers.
For the self-identified "late bloomer researcher," Ms. Kris Baltero Roxas considered her acceptance to the program as an enriching experience that she will leverage in educating more students and colleagues at the Capiz State University, Philippines. This sentiment resonated with the AIP's vision of kickstarting agri-innovators' journey toward a continuous innovation life cycle and sustainable impact.
"SEARCA AIP is the perfect ground for a researcher like me to transform ideas into impact. Personally, it allowed me to step out of the goal to publish research results, reach academic targets, and aim for commercialization of our innovation to reach more people," Ms. Roxas said.
Meanwhile, Ms. So'bah Ahmad of Universiti Teknologi MARA in Malaysia appreciated the hands-on and step-by-step process of the program that helped her clearly define and articulate her agri-innovation based on her research on black tea. "The coaching sessions and the final pitch were especially valuable, as they emphasized the key aspects of becoming a real entrepreneur in the startup journey," she noted.
Ms. Roxas, Ms. Ahmad, and their fellow participants are now part of SEARCA's network of over 22,000 training alumni since the 1970s. The AIP is a banner program of SEARCA led by the Education and Collective Learning Department-Training for Development Unit.