SEARCA News

Grade school and high school student-inventors from Colegio de San Juan de Letran Calamba showcased their agri-inventions at the Sowing Seeds: Cultivating Youth's Future in Agriculture session on agri-robotics organized by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) through its Partnerships Unit (PU) as part of the Center's Young Forces for Agricultural Innovation (#Y4AGRI) program on 21 October 2024. In his opening message, Dr. Glenn Gregorio, SEARCA Center Director, explained that agriculture is a complex system that includes not only production but also harvesting, postharvest processing, and, ultimately, consumption. Dr. Gregorio also underscored the… Read more

Seventeen new SEARCA scholars pursuing master's and doctoral degrees attended the hybrid orientation meeting held face to face at the SEARCA headquarters and online via Zoom on 21 October 2024. The new scholars were from Cambodia (2), Indonesia (6), Malaysia (1), Myanmar (1), the Philippines (6), and Liberia (1). Organized by the Center through its Graduate Scholarship and Institutional Development Unit under the Education and Collective Learning Department (ECLD-GSIDU), the orientation featured a briefing on SEARCA and its programs and activities followed by specific discussions about the policies and guidelines in the administration of the SEARCA graduate scholarship program. Dr… Read more

Ms. Soledad Villanueva, Public School District Supervisor (PSDS) of the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) Los Baños, Laguna Sub-office, and Ms. Pilar Habito, Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Arturo Cariaga, both of Life Learning Organization of Peace, visited the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on 11 October 2024 for an exploratory meeting regarding a community engagement initiative focusing on school garden and youth entrepreneurship. Ms. Villanueva thanked the Center for its longstanding partnership with DepEd through the School-plus-Home Gardens Project (S+HGP). She expressed excitement about expanding the S+HGP and further strengthening DEpEd's Gulayan… Read more

JAKARTA, Indonesia—Dr. Glenn Gregorio, Center Director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), was one of the plenary speakers in the session on "Bridging Disciplines for Holistic Solutions/Integrated Actions on Sustainable Food Systems" at the 2nd SEAMEO International Conference on Food and Nutrition (ICFN 2024) organized by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Regional Centre for Food and Nutrition (RECFON), held on 17–18 October 2024 at Redtop Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia. With the theme "Understanding the Challenges, Gains, and Opportunities in Environmental Nutrition Research, Programs, and Policies in Southeast Asia," ICFN… Read more

The Governing Board (GB) of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) convened on 30 September–1 October 2024 at SEARCA to review the Center's operations and accomplishments in the previous fiscal year and deliberated on the Center's 12th Five-Year Development Plan (FYDP), spanning fiscal years 2025/2026 to 2029/2030. As SEARCA's highest decision-making body, the SEARCA GB comprises country representatives from each of the 11 member countries of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), SEARCA's mother organization, along with the SEAMEO Secretariat (SEAMES) Director and SEARCA Center Director as ex-officio members. Ably chaired… Read more

Aiming to strengthen provincial governments and enhance their knowledge to more effectively promote the use and acceptance of modern biotechnology, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) held the Pilot Testing of Training Module on Biotechnology for Public Servants on 30 September to 2 October 2024 at Acacia Hotel, Alabang, Muntinlupa City. Eighteen officials and staff of the provincial and municipal agriculture offices of Oriental Mindoro participated in the activity. The training module is an instructional tool and resource designed to equip public servants with the necessary skills and knowledge on biotech through self-paced… Read more

FLORES ISLAND, Indonesia—Dr. Glenn Gregorio, Center Director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), served as keynote speaker at the 1st International Conference on Agriculture, Food, Forestry and Agribusiness 2024 held on 5–6 September 2024 at the Jayakarta Suites Komodo Flores and online. The conference, organized by the Faculty of Agriculture of Universitas Nusa Cendana, Indonesia, focused on the theme "Managing the Sustainability of Agriculture, Food, Forestry and Agribusiness: Challenges and Opportunities in the Disruptive Era." It featured presentations and discussions on sustainable agriculture, crop protection and protection, food security and nutrition, environmental… Read more

The Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) celebrated a milestone during its 37th Executive Board Meeting on 23–24 September 2024. Hosted by the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) in Laguna, Philippines, the meeting was especially significant as the UC marked its 35th anniversary, commemorating three and a half decades of collaborative leadership in advancing agricultural and natural resources education across Southeast Asia and beyond. Representatives from regular member institutions attended the meeting, including Kasetsart University (KU) and Maejo University (MJU) from Thailand; Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), IPB University (IPB), and Universitas… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines— Dr. Glenn Gregorio, Center Director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), participated as a speaker in the panel discussion on "Rice Trade Liberalization and Improving the Competitiveness of the Philippine Rice Sector" held on 11 September 2024 at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The event was part of the three-day Training Workshop on Self-sufficiency, Food Security, and Agricultural Transformation implemented by IRRI Education. Dr. Gregorio provided an in-depth analysis of the Rice Tariffication Law and its impacts on the Philippine rice industry. He explained how the law replaced… Read more

QUEZON PROVINCE—The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), in partnership with the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist of Quezon, recently concluded a series of trainings for coconut farmers in Quezon Province held on 18-20 September 2024. These trainings under the project Development of Coconut Industry Growth Areas in the Province of Quezon are designed to equip individual farmers and farmer associations or cooperatives on high-value crops and livestock integration, as well as marketing strategies for coconut products. The trainings also included hands-on demonstration on coconut sap-based products processing, including sugar, lambanog (coconut wine or… Read more