BANGKOK, Thailand—The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has enlisted the expertise of a Thailand Regional Agriculture Innovation Network (RAIN) project staff for its career orientation program for youth called Sowing Seeds: Cultivating Youth's Future in Agriculture. This initiative aims to inspire Southeast Asia's next generation of agricultural leaders by introducing them to cutting-edge agricultural technologies and agri-entrepreneurship.
On 2 September 2024, a SEARCA team led by Ms. Sharon Malaiba, Unit Head for Partnerships and Lead of the SEARCA Young Forces for Agricultural Innovation (#Y4AGRI), met with Mr. Phonlapat Amornrattanaket, Business Development Specialist, Thailand RAIN project, regarding the next offering of Sowing Seeds. The program targets senior high school and pre-university students across Southeast Asia to introduce them to the latest advancements in agricultural technology and how these present opportunities to those who pursue a degree and career in agriculture.
At the first Sowing Seeds session in Thailand to be held on 6 September 2024 at Patumwan Demonstration School in Bangkok, Mr. Phonlapat will share insights on the use of drone technology to boost agricultural productivity. He will highlight the positive impacts of drone solutions in Thailand, particularly in improving the yield and profitability of key crops.
These innovations are a focus of the Thailand RAIN project, which is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and implemented by Winrock International to promote climate-smart and precision agriculture technologies. SEARCA is a partner of Winrock in the Thailand RAIN project.
SEARCA Center Director Dr. Glenn Gregorio said Winrock and SEARCA will conduct coordinated scanning for innovations, provide guidance to other universities and actors on scanning, and co-host learning sessions. They will also define best practices for bundling finance, extension, equality, and data into innovations. The collaboration for the Sowing Seeds activity is a step in co-hosting learning sessions.
Dr. Gregorio also said that SEARCA and Winrock likewise agreed to develop youth outreach programs to excite them about agri-innovations and link them to specific entrepreneurial opportunities.
Toward this end, the SEARCA team and Mr. Phonpalat also discussed the possibility of leveraging the Thailand RAIN project's innovations to engage more Thai youth in innovation and agri-entrepreneurship by jointly organizing a series of learning sessions in the eight provinces covered by the RAIN project.
With Ms. Malaiba at the meeting were Ms. Leah Lyn Domingo, SEARCA Public Relations Specialist, and Ms. Loise Ann Carandang, SEARCA Senior Associate for Communications and #Y4AGRI Co-Lead.
Mr. Phonlapat Amornrattanaket of the Thailand RAIN project explains their drone program to the SEARCA team led by Ms. Sharon Malaiba, Unit Head for Partnerships.