SEARCA News

VICTORIA, ORIENTAL MINDORO, Philippines – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), the Mindoro State College of Agriculture and Technology (MinSCAT), and the local government of Victoria, Oriental Mindoro sealed their commitment to help revitalize Victoria’s calamansi industry by signing memorandum of agreement (MOA) on 2 February 2016. In line with SEARCA’S Piloting and Up-scaling Effective Models of Inclusive and Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development (ISARD) program, the project titled, “Revitalizing Calamansi Industry in Victoria, Oriental Mindoro through Strengthening Linkages among Farmers, LGU, NGAs, SUCs, CSOs, and the Private Sector” will bejointly implemented by… Read more

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Mr. Bouavonh Biachampah and Ms. Chheun Sreyneang, International Development Research Centre (IDRC)-SEARCA alumni from Chiang Mai University (CMU) and the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), respectively, have been conferred the “Excellent Paper Award” during the Seventh International Conference on Environmental and Rural Development (ICERD) held on 16-17 January 2016 at the Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The two were among the eight awardees, and bested more than 84 papers which competed during the conference themed “Environmentally-friendly Agricultural and Rural Development.&rdquo… Read more

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Thirty-one scholars under the Southeast Asian Upland Agriculture Fellowship project of SEARCA and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada took part in the Third IDRC-SEARCA Annual Fellowship plus Conference-Workshop on 16-18 January 2016 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) through the Research and Development Department (RDD), with the assistance of the UPLB Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension (OVCRE), organized a workshop for the project Participatory Action Research on School and Community-based Food and Nutrition Program for Literacy, Poverty Reduction, and Sustainable Development on 26 January 2016 at the SEARCA Umali Auditorium… Read more

The Ambassador of France to the Philippines, His Excellency Thierry Mathou, said his top priority is to beef up cooperation in agriculture between the Philippines and France and is looking to collaborate with the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on ensuing initiatives under such cooperation… Read more

The declining interest of youth in agriculture and malnutrition among schoolchildren are two of the pressing challenges in agricultural and rural development in Southeast Asia. Convinced that healthy children are the foundation of a healthy society, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) collaborated with the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd), the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) College, and the local government units of Laguna, Philippines… Read more

ANCOL JAKARTA BAY CITY, Indonesia – SEARCA along with the other implementing partners of the ASEAN-Swiss Partnership on Social Forestry and Climate Change (ASFCC) Program Phase II participated in the Planning Meeting for 2016 and Initial Planning for Phase III (2017–2020) on 18–20 January 2016… Read more

Her Excellency Amanda Gorely, the newly installed Ambassador of Australia to the Philippines visited SEARCA on 21 January 2016. She was accompanied by her husband, Stuart Hodge, their daughter Freya Hodge, and Ms. Cecilia O. Honrado, Country Manager of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)… Read more

BANGKOK, Thailand – On the invitation of the French Agricultural Research Center for International Development (CIRAD), Dr. Gil C. Saguiguit, Jr. (second from left), Director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), attended the launching ceremony of the International Double Degree Master’s Programme “InterRisk” held on 12 January 2016 at Kasetsart University (KU), Bangkok, Thailand… Read more

SEARCA has announced the winners of the 2015 photo contest with the theme From Farm to Plate: Smallholders' Participation in Inclusive Value Chains. The contest, which ran from 15 September to 30 November 2015, received more than 1400 entries submitted by 392 photographers from all 10 countries in Southeast Asia—Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam. SEARCA Photo Contest 2015 awarded entries that best captured how smallholders participate in the value chains (production, aggregation, processing, and distribution) of fresh produce (crop and livestock), commodities, and handicrafts as a means of promoting agricultural and… Read more