SEARCA News

The Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) successfully concluded its annual UC Summer School, which took place from 24 July to 4 August 2023, at Kasetsart University (KU) Chalermphrakiat Sakon Nakhon Province Campus. This marked the 7th installment of the learning event, KU collaborated with the TALENT Programme on Sustainable Land Management of the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD). Now on its two-year partnership with CIRAD, this year's program was preceded by Universitas Brawijaya in Malang, Indonesia, as the host institution. Under the theme of "Sustainability of Agricultural Systems in… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) held a hybrid Testimonial Ceremony on 3 August 2023 to honor and celebrate the graduation of the Center's 28 Full MSc and PhD scholars and 6 PhD Research scholars. Out of the 28 full scholars, 11 were co-funded by SEARCA's partners, namely the German Academic Exchange Service or DAAD; National Taiwan University; Agropolis Fondation in France; and Tokyo NODAI and Nagoya University, both in Japan. The event was a joyous gathering attended in-person by eight graduating scholars together with their families while the rest of the honorees… Read more

DAKOTA, a digital tool that bolsters sustainable production of food export commodities in Indonesia will soon reach okra farmers of Grobogan in Central Java. The tool is a digital platform helping farmers achieve international market standards and fair prices through transparent records of the quality control and agricultural practices applied on their commodities. The blockchain technology behind DAKOTA creates unchangeable records of a commodity from its farm origin to retail market. A project led by the civil society organization Penabulu Foundation is adapting DAKOTA, originally designed for spice commodities, to raise the production quality, income, and market reach of 150… Read more

RIZAL, Philippines – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), in collaboration with the Provincial Government (PG) through the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPAg), kicked off the scoping activity of community gardens in 17 barangays from seven municipalities in Rizal province on 19–20 and 25–27 July 2023. This activity is part of the School Edible Landscaping for Entrepreneurship (SEL4E) Project being implemented by SEARCA, Rizal Provincial Government, and the Department of Education's Rizal Division Office. SEL4E is a follow-up project to SEARCA's initiative, "A Participatory Action Research on School- and Community-based Food and… Read more

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam —The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) reinforced its call for higher education institutions (HEIs) to strengthen link with industry needs during the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Regional Training Center (RETRAC) International Conference on 13-14 July 2023. On behalf of SEARCA, Deputy Director for Programs Dr. Nur Azura Adam presented a conference paper titled, Reshaping Instruction, Research, and Development for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Southeast Asia. Taking off from a pandemic scenario, Dr. Nur underscored the role of universities in producing graduates with a transformative… Read more

Nineteen incoming Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) scholars attended the hybrid orientation meeting organized by the Center through its Graduate Scholarship and Institutional Development Unit under the Education and Collective Learning Department (ECLD-GSIDU) on 24 July 2023. The new scholars were from Cambodia (1), Indonesia (3), Malaysia (2), Myanmar (1), the Philippines (9), and Vietnam (3). They will be pursuing their graduate studies in their selected universities. The orientation featured a briefing on SEARCA, its 11th Five-Year Plan, and specific discussions about the graduate scholarship program delivered by Dr. Maria Cristeta Cuaresma, senior… Read more

Hosted by the Central Luzon State University (CLSU), the third-year edition of the CLSU-SEARCA-UC International Summer Short-term Program (ISSP) has been organized in collaboration with the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC). The program runs from 24 to 31 July 2023 and offers an intensive training opportunity for international students interested in any of this year's track offerings: freshwater aquaculture, goat production, and mushroom pharming. Thirty-one participants from nine countries in Southeast Asia and Africa represent eleven universities, including… Read more

Continuing its commitment to empowering members of the judiciary to create sound, unbiased, and evidence-based decisions and policy recommendations, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) teamed up with the Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA), the Philippine Association of Law Schools (PALS), the United States Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service Manila (USDA-FAS Manila), and the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), Inc. for the Forum on Improving the Policy Environment for Biotech Industry Development held on 14 July 2023 at Manila Diamond Hotel and online via Zoom. SEARCA Director Dr. Glenn Gregorio… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) continues its longstanding collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service-Manila (USDA-FAS Manila) in contributing to the development of an enabling environment for agricultural innovations with the Forum on the Current State and Opportunities for Biotechnology in International Trade and Technology Transfer held on 30 June 2023 at the Crop Biotechnology Center (CBC) in the Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija and online via Zoom. Dr. Rhodora Aldemita, executive director of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), Inc., introduced the topics… Read more

Sharing the commitment to harness knowledge sharing and learning in advancing the agriculture sector in the Philippines and the region, SEARCA and the Philippine Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture (PPSA) launched the Learning Alliance Working Group (WG) on 27 June 2023 at the Ascott Hotel, Taguig City, Metro Manila. The event gathered more than 40 stakeholders from the academe, industry, and government (AIG). With SEARCA as lead, the Learning Alliance WG seeks to support research efforts on agriculture and sustainable development and create market-driven solutions that contribute toward lifting smallholder livelihoods at scale. This initiative is also aligned with the Center's… Read more