SEARCA News

A genuine passion to support the underprivileged is needed for development to happen. This passion is seen in the eyes of Prof. Dr. Ir. Mochammad Maksum, who now wears a number of important hats in Indonesia. Foremost, he is a Professor at the Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM). He is also the Rector of the newly established Universitas Nahdlatul Ulama in Jakarta, an academic institution of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest religious organization in Indonesia, and for which Prof. Maksum also currently serves as the Vice General Chairman of the Central Board… Read more

SEARCA Headquarters, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) jointly organized the launch workshop of the project Agricultural Transformation and Market Integration in the ASEAN Region: Responding to Food Security and Inclusiveness Concerns on 7-8 October 2016.  More than 50 experts from international organizations, government agencies, academic institutions, civil society, and the private sector representing Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines, Vietnam, China, India, the United States of America, and Rome  took part in the discourse on global, regional, and national perspectives… Read more

LAGUNA, Philippines – To assess the utilization of crops produced from the gardens of pilot schools involved in the SEARCA-UPLB-DepEd-Laguna school and home gardens project, cooking contests will take place from 12 to 28 October 2016… Read more

VICTORIA, ORIENTAL MINDORO, Philippines - A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) among the members of the Victoria Kalamansi Farmers Federation (VKFF), the Local Government of Victoria represented by Mayor Joselito Malabanan, and the Mindoro State College of Agriculture and Technology (MinSCAT) represented by Pres. Jesse Zamora was signed on 3 October 2016 for the establishment of the calamansi demonstration farms under the Piloting and Upscaling Effective Models of Inclusive and Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development project of SEARCA. The memorandum highlights the rights and responsibilities of the various parties in the establishment and maintenance of the demonstration farms… Read more

INOPACAN, LEYTE, Philippines – In line with the goal to attain food sufficiency and reduce poverty incidence in the municipality through Inclusive and Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development (ISARD), demonstration farms were launched on 28 September 2016. These demonstration farms include a vegetable farm, a tilapia fishpond, and two jackfruit farms… Read more

Twenty-one Center Directors and staff of the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) examined the Center’s strengths and weaknesses as well as identified the opportunities and threats (SWOT) in the light of issues and challenges confronting the development of the carabao-based industry in the country.  Organized by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in partnership with the PCC, the Environmental Scanning Workshop held at Widus Hotel, Clark, Pampanga from 29-30 September 2016, used the SWOT analysis approach to: (1) articulate on issues that may impact on the PCC, (2) define an institutional response to… Read more

“…my mission in life is to create jobs. I am not a job seeker, I am a job giver” – Muhammad Yunus Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Dr. Muhammad Yunus founded the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh to prove how, through credit, the poor can be empowered even with a small amount of capital. The approach became a global model and caught the interest of Dr. Generoso Octavio, who was then a faculty of the College of Economics and Management at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (CEM-UPLB)… Read more

Cassava is a crop commonly grown in Thailand by small farmers in marginal soil types. In the past, it is exported as an ordinary supplement for livestock feed in Europe. Now it is considered as one of the most important crops in Thailand, playing a critical role in addressing food security, poverty alleviation, and environmental sustainability… Read more

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) are gearing up for the launch workshop of the project on “Agricultural Transformation and Market Integration in the ASEAN Region: Responding to Food Security and Inclusiveness Concerns” to be held on 7-8 October 2016 at SEARCA Headquarters, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines… Read more

To be appointed as one of the think tanks of a country’s agriculture sector is both an honor and a huge responsibility. Having been entrusted that critical position by 12 agriculture ministers or in the case of the Philippines, department secretaries, and four Presidents is already a feat in itself. … Read more