SEARCA News

We heard you! The SEARCA Photo Contest is accepting submissions until 30 December 2023! For its 17th year, the annual photo contest launched by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) zooms in on Regenerating agri-ecosystems, lowering "global boiling". The competition is open to Filipinos and nationals of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. The theme aims to highlight technologies and practices in agriculture that help mitigate worsening effects of climate change so much so that the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres alerted the public on 21 July… Read more

BANGKOK, Thailand—Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sutkhet Nakasathien, vice president for research and creation at Kasetsart University, has been elected as the Chair of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) Governing Board. Dr. Sutkhet will serve in this position from 2023 to 2025. As chair of the SEARCA Governing Board, Dr. Sutkhet will lead the highest policymaking body of SEARCA. The Governing Board is composed of representatives from each member country of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) who were nominated by their respective Ministers/Secretaries of Education and appointed by the SEAMEO Council… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines - The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), in collaboration with Newfields Consulting Ltd. (NFC) and Macon Ltd., conducted the second installment of the training-workshop series on Carbon Wise Rice-based Farming on 21–22 November 2023 at SEARCA Headquarters, Los Baños, Laguna. The second workshop was attended by 28 participants from the Provincial and Municipal Agricultural Offices of Laguna, faculty and researchers from the University of the Philippines Los Baños, Central Luzon State University, and the private sector. The training-workshop provided an in-depth discussion on the importance of the available platforms for… Read more

NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines—The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), through its Research and Thought Leadership Department (RTLD), in partnership with the Central Philippines State University (CPSU) and Kansas State University, kicked off the Second International Conference on School-plus-Home Gardens cum Biodiversity Enhancement and Enterprise (SHGBEE2) with a series of mobile workshops on 14–15 November 2023 in Kabankalan City and Danjugan Island, Negros Occidental. The SEARCA delegation was led by Dr. Nur Azura Adam, deputy director for programs, with Dr. Gerlie Tatlonghari, program head; Mr. Jerome Cayton Barradas, project coordinator II; Ms. Anna Gale Vallez… Read more

Thirty participants from 20 members of the State Universities and Colleges - Association of Colleges of Agriculture in the Philippines (SUC-ACAP) convened during the Culminating Forum of the Leveling-Up Philippine Higher Education Institutions in Agriculture, Fisheries, and Natural Resources or LevelUPHEI-AFAR on 15–16 November 2023. This project of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) is funded by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). The attendees, comprising project alumni who undertook mobilities at the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) host member universities, gathered to discuss the… Read more

Twelve Taiwan Youth Agricultural Ambassadors (TYAA), together with Deputy Director General Hsiao Kuang-wei of the Public Diplomacy Coordination Council-Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and Deputy Director General Hung Hsiao-chun of the Department of International Affairs-Taiwan Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), paid a courtesy visit to the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on 17 November 2023 as part of the TYAA New Southbound Policy Exchange Program. Co-organized by MOFA and MOA, the TYAA New Southbound Policy Exchange Program provides Taiwanese tertiary students specializing in agriculture, aquaculture, animal husbandry, and forestry with an opportunity to… Read more

Mr. Prem Chaudhary, Government of Odisha Department of Agriculture and Food Production director; Prof. Pravat Kumar Roul, vice chancellor, and Dr. Tushar Ranjan Mohanty, agrometeorologist, both of the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT); and Dr. Mukund Variar, Odisha-International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) state coordinator, paid a courtesy visit to the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on 16 November 2023 to discuss possible collaborations on research, innovations, scholarships, and publications. The Directorate of Agriculture and Food Production is the oldest Odisha Agriculture Department. OUAT, on the other hand, is the second oldest… Read more

Twenty-three homeschoolers from the ACTS Center, along with their parents and guardians, visited the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on 15 November 2023 to learn about agri-robotics. They were accompanied by ACTS Center Community Directress Elizabeth Lim Yao. Assoc. Prof. Joselito Florendo, SEARCA deputy director for administration, emphasized the vital role of agriculture to all individuals, including children. He highlighted its contributions to their daily necessities like food, clothing, and shelter. Ms. Yao, on the other hand, expressed her gratitude to SEARCA for giving the students an opportunity to engage in agri-robotics through… Read more

Dr. Glenn Gregorio, Center Director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), served as one of the plenary speakers during Session 1 of the International Society for Southeast Asian Agricultural Sciences (ISSAAS) International Scientific Congress and General Meeting 2023 held on 8–10 November 2023. With the theme, "Integrated Management of Southeast Asian Agricultural Landscapes," the congress spotlighted food security, soil and water conservation, climate resilience, and market systems and initiatives. In his presentation titled "Transforming Agricultural Education in the Era of the 4th Industrial Revolution," Dr. Gregorio emphasized the significance of capacitating the… Read more

Officers and members of the International Society for Southeast Asian Agricultural Sciences (ISSAAS)-Malaysian Chapter and the Agricultural Institute of Malaysia (AIM) paid a courtesy visit to the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on 11 November 2023. The ISSAAS-Malaysian Chapter delegation was led by its treasurer, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Norida Mazlan of the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), while the AIM delegation was led by its president, Prof. Dato’ Dr. Abdul Shukor Juraimi, also from UPM. The visitors were oriented on the Center's mandate, programs, and offerings, particularly the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate… Read more