SEARCA News

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and Sejong University in Seoul, Korea are jointly offering research scholarships to Southeast Asians to earn master’s and doctoral degrees. Applications for the Sejong University-SEARCA Joint Graduate Research Scholarship for Southeast Asian Countries will be accepted until 19 March 2021. The joint scholarship is open nationals of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. The aim is to strengthen the capacities of Southeast Asian scientists and researchers by enabling them to obtain master’s and doctoral degrees by research in… Read more

“I am reimagining the kind of ARD that the Southeast Asian countries deserve, the kind of agriculture sector we must leave behind for the future generations of Southeast Asians to come,” said Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, Director of the Southeast Asia Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). For a span of more than 50 years, SEARCA has been in the business of implementing programs and projects related to ARD in the Southeast Asia region. Its current role as a champion in molding farmers and farming families was revisited by Dr. Gregorio as he capped off the last… Read more

Steering a more partnership-driven organization committed in keeping with its mandate of strengthening ties towards Accelerating Transformation Through Agricultural Innovation (ATTAIN), the Southeast Asia Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) renewed its partnership with the Oscar M. Lopez Center (OML Center) in a virtual ceremony held via Zoom on 23 February 2021. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, SEARCA Director, and Dr. Rodel D. Lasco, OML Center Executive Director, with Mr. Joselito G. Florendo, SEARCA Deputy Director for Administration, and Ms. Perpilili A. Tiongson, OML Center Associate Director, as witnesses… Read more

The Regional SEARCA Alumni Association (RSAA) virtually launched its book titled Methodologies Supportive of Sustainable Development in Agriculture and Natural Resources Management: Selected Cases in Southeast Asia, its first collaborative publication project among scholars across Southeast Asia, with support from SEARCA and the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), as well as other academic institutions in the region with which the authors are affiliated. The book project is the brainchild of its eventual editor, Dr. Inocencio Buot Jr. of UPLB, describing it as “a unique compendium, a scholarly account of peer reviewed, science-based, and replicable methodologies in Southeast Asia.”… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and APPGeese, Inc. mark another milestone in their partnership to modernize traditional farming and improve the livelihood of farmers with the virtual launch of AgriEX, a digital agriculture exchange platform that allows fair trade via farm-to-fork system, securing farmers their profit while serving their fresh goods to customers to form a healthy eating habit among Filipinos. Since October 2020, SEARCA, through its Emerging Innovation for Growth Department (EIGD), has worked with APPGeese, Inc. in coordinating with local government units (LGUs), meeting with leaders of farmer organizations, and visiting… Read more

LOS BAÑOS - The project management team (PMT) of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA)-led project, “Upgrading the Calamansi Value Chain towards Improving the Calamansi Industry of Oriental Mindoro”, will conduct an online training on the identification of insect pests, beneficial insects, diseases of calamansi, and their management on 04 March 2021 via the Zoom platform. It is part of the project’s commitment to address the technical and market constraints confronting the calamansi industry of Oriental Mindoro. The PMT saw the need to capacitate the nursery operators, farmers, technical staff from the agriculture… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna, Philippines – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) conducted its 23rd SEARCA Online Learning and Virtual Engagement (SOLVE) webinar titled Livestock Diseases and Zoonoses: How Secure are Biosecurity Measures? on 17 February 2021 via Zoom and Facebook Live. The webinar aimed to enhance public knowledge and awareness on surveillance systems, biosecurity measures, and zoonoses and emerging diseases. The presenters were Dr. Anthony Bucad, Veterinarian II and Officer-in-Charge of the Animal Disease Control Section, Bureau of Animal Industry, Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA-BAI); Dr. Tamsin Barnes, Senior Research Fellow in Veterinary… Read more

Recognizing the need to discuss a holistic approach and collaborative strategy to mitigate the effects of climate change for sustainable growth and development gave rise to the forum on “Jurisdictional Sustainability Approach for Climate Change Initiatives in the Forestry and Natural Resources Sector” held on 18 February 2021 via Zoom and Facebook. The forum was organized by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN FAO), Department of Environment and Natural Resources -Forest Management Bureau (DENR-FMB), and DENR-Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB). In his welcome remarks, SEARCA… Read more

SEARCA in collaboration with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) will be holding the 1st Knowledge Sharing Workshop for the “Project on Enhancing Food Supply Chain Resilience and Food Security in ASEAN with Utilization of Digital Technologies.” The workshop will be conducted online via Zoom on 22 February 2021 (Monday), at 9:00 AM (GMT+7 Jakarta). The online workshop aims to discuss and level-off on the applications, trends, and development of digital technologies in the agricultural sector with the ASEAN Member States (AMS), and to gather their inputs and… Read more

Underscoring the role of higher education institutions (HEIs) to produce a transformative mindset that disrupted global citizenship education (GCED) and further resulted in far-reaching social and economic changes, Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, Director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), tackled the GCED’s positive effects in understanding the growing complex social concerns now and even more in the future. The Southeast Asian Ministers for Education Organization (SEAMEO) Secretariat (SEAMES), in collaboration with the University of Tsukuba and supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Japan, convened the 9th… Read more