SEARCA News

DILI, Timor Leste – The first set of SEARCA Alumni Association of Timor-Leste (SAAT) officers were installed in office on 15 January 2015 at the Early Sun Restaurant in Dili, Timor Leste.  Eighteen SEARCA alumni, headed by their President, Mr. Agustinho da Costa Ximenes, were present during the event. Dr. Maria Cristeta N. Cuaresma, SEARCA’s Program Head for Graduate Education and Institutional Development (GEID) administered the Oath of Office for the SAAT officers. Also present to witness the event were Dr. Acacio Cardoso Amaral, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, National University of Timor Lorosaé (UNTL) and Country Representative of Timor-Leste to… Read more

QUEZON CITY, Philippines – Results of the SEARCA-PhilRice project titled Improving the Agricultural Insurance Program to Enhance Resilience to Climate Change: Evidence from Rice and Corn Production in the Philippines were presented by the project team to the Board of Directors (BOD) of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) on 25 February 2015. Dr. Jose M. Yorobe of the UPLB College of Economics and Management together with Dr. Bessie M. Burgos and Ms. Pilipinas M. Luis of SEARCA reported on the corn component. Ms. Imelda A. Arida of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) reported on the rice component… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines – As part of SEARCA’s Community Involvement Program (CIP), the Center donated science, mathematics, and language textbooks and reference materials to 10 public elementary schools and four high schools in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines on 27 February 2015. The activity aimed to improve the library collection of public schools in Los Baños and provide a better learning experience for the students… Read more

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – The Southeast Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) drew compliments from Dr. Hang Chuon Naron, Cambodia’s Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, particularly in the Center’s efforts to build the capacities of the country’s manpower in agriculture through graduate scholarship… Read more

As second semester of Academic Year 2014-2015 commences, SEARCA awarded nine more graduate scholarships to students from Lao PDR (2), Myanmar (4), Vietnam (1), Timor Leste (1), and the Philippines (1).  All new scholars are posted at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB)… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) have recently collaborated on a research project titled, “Value Chain Analysis of Carabao and Carabao-based Products in Luzon, Philippines.” In recent years, carabao production has gained importance as a vital component in achieving food security and increasing farm income in the Philippines, and is now a main source of both draft power and meat for smallholder farmers. With this in mind, this project will analyze the value chain for carabao and… Read more

DAVAO, ORIENTAL, Philippines – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) conducted a scoping mission in the southern Philippines province of Davao Oriental as part of the initial activities for Phase 1 of the Piloting and Upscaling Effective Models of Inclusive and Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development (ISARD) project… Read more

SEARCA has announced the winners of the 2014 photo contest with the theme Climate Change and Agriculture in Southeast Asia: Faces of Vulnerability and Resilience. The contest, which ran from 15 September to 30 November 2014, received 1225 entries submitted by 341 photographers from all 11 countries in Southeast Asia—Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam. SEARCA Photo Contest 2014 awarded entries that best captured how vulnerable Southeast Asian agricultural communities are to climate change or what these communities are doing to respond to the challenges of climate change… Read more

His Excellency Prof. Dr. Pham Vu Luan, Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam and President of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Council, lauded Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) for its contributions to SEAMEO and to research and training in agriculture and forestry in the region during his visit to the Center on 26 January 2015… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines – Mr. Benoit Thierry, Country Programme Manager, and Mr. Yolando Arban, Country Programme Officer, both from the Asia and the Pacific Division of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) visited SEARCA on 27 January 2015 to explore potential areas of renewed collaboration with the Center… Read more