SEARCA News

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has agreed to be co-publisher of the 52-year-old SABRAO Journal of Breeding and Genetics. This was formalized in a one-year memorandum of agreement signed by the Society for the Advancement of Breeding Research in Asia and Oceania (SABRAO) and SEARCA on 15 September 2021. An international society devoted to basic and applied aspects of breeding research in economically important plant species, SABRAO has been publishing the SABRAO Journal of Breeding and Genetics since 1969. For most of its history, the journal was published once or twice each… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the ClimateScience entered into an agreement for several collaborations on the many intersections of agricultural and rural development (ARD) and climate change. The virtual ceremonial signing of MOU was held on 27 September 2021. Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, SEARCA Director, and Mr. Eric Steinberger, CEO and Co-founder of ClimateScience, signed a memorandum with Mr. Joselito G. Florendo, SEARCA Deputy Director for Administration and Ms. Rochelle L. Bata, Partnership Officer and Continental Coordinator for Asia, Climate Science, as witnesses.  ClimateScience is a United Kingdom-based non-profit organization providing… Read more

A Regional Consultation Workshop will be held virtually on 23 September 2021, 09:00 – 13:00 (UCT+7), to review and discuss the proposed structure and content of the third volume of the ASEAN Regional Guidelines for Promotion and Adoption of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA). This is the second of the consultation workshops co-organized by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) to develop a third volume (Volume 3) that would complement the previous volumes by providing ASEAN Member States (AMS) with tangible guidelines on how to implement the CSA practices. On 7 July 2021, the first… Read more

SEARCA teamed up with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, United States Embassy Manila, and the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) for the 35th SEARCA Online Learning and Virtual Engagement (SOLVE) webinar entitled “SOLVE Public Info-sufficiency on Genome-edited Crops” held on 8 September 2021 via Zoom and Facebook. The webinar is part of the annual Biotech Outreach Program, which aims to provide a venue for knowledge sharing and learning with different stakeholders and contribute to improved understanding and acceptance of biotechnology in the country, with focus on genome editing technologies in crops. Dr. Carl Ramage, Managing Director… Read more

The COVID-19 pandemic that swept across the globe is a testament to the interconnectedness of all parts of the world and has shone a spotlight on the interlink between the health of people, animals, and the environment—also known as One Health. Thus, it is with a sharp focus on “One Health is Wealth: Healthy Agriculture and Sustainable Food Systems” that the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) marks the 15th year milestone of its annual photo contest. The 2021 SEARCA Photo Contest is inviting photographers from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) is in search of videos by Southeast Asian youth on personal experience, practice, or advocacy relating to “Youth in Sustainable Food Consumption and Waste Management” as this year’s theme of the Youth COVIDeo Contest.  The video entries must answer the general question: How can young people contribute to sustainable food consumption and food waste management? The videos may tackle healthier diet, responsibly consuming food, or properly managing food waste, particularly during the pandemic. The contest is open to all youth aged 15-35 who are nationals of Brunei… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) have partnered to establish a Halal Science and Technology (S&T) and One Health Knowledge Center for Southeast Asia in the Philippines. To be hosted by the UPLB School of Environmental Science and Management (SESAM) with support from SEARCA, the Halal S&T and One Health Knowledge Center is envisaged to be a virtual one-stop, open-access regional hub for country-to-country and cross-country government-academe-industry exchanges of knowledge and resources related to the growing Halal and One Health global ecosystems. “Halal is… Read more

Continuing its commitment in improving access to unbiased science-based information, SEARCA in collaboration with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, United States Embassy Manila, and the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) will be conducting the SEARCA Online Learning and Virtual Engagement (SOLVE) webinar entitled “SOLVE Public Info-sufficiency on Genome-edited Crops” on 8 September 2021, 10:00 A.M. (Philippine Time, GMT +8:00), via Zoom and Facebook. Dr. Carl Ramage, Managing Director of Rautaki Solutions, Inc., and Chair of the Institutional Biosafety Committee of La Trobe University, Australia along with Dr. Saturnina Halos, President of the Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines will be providing both the global and local perspectives… Read more

Recognizing the need for mobilizing competent and motivated leaders who will champion the initiation and facilitation of complex change processes in addressing climate change in Southeast Asia, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the Deutsche Gessellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmBH-Climate-Smart Land Use in ASEAN (CSLU) Project kicked off the second virtual offering of the ASEAN Climate Leadership Programme (ACLP) on 18-19 August 2021 via the SEARCA Online Learning and Virtual Engagement  (SOLVE) platform. This year’s ACLP will run for 15 days over a two-and-a-half-month period (until 28 October 2021). It has… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) conducted its 34th SEARCA Online Learning and Virtual Engagement (SOLVE) webinar titled “SOLVE Gaps in the Agri-Food System: Promoting Youth Inclusion and Innovation” on 11 August 2021 via Zoom and Facebook Live. SEARCA identified Gender and Youth Engagement in agricultural and rural development (ARD) as one of its key priority areas that would accelerate transformation through agricultural innovation. Putting spotlight on the youth sector, the Center establishes the Young Forces for Agricultural Innovation (#Y4AGRI) as its banner youth engagement initiative. Guided by the principle of "by the… Read more