SEARCA News

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) was established in 1966 and is one of 26 specialist institutions of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO). The Center is mandated to strengthen institutional capacities in agricultural and rural development (ARD) in Southeast Asia through its core programs on Education and Collective Learning, Research and Thought Leadership, and Emerging Innovation for Growth. On 27 November 2020, SEARCA celebrated its 54th anniversary together with SEAMEO’s 55th Anniversary in an event held online. In his welcome remarks, Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, SEARCA Director, highlighted its mother… Read more

The International Foundation for Science (IFS) and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) will have a ceremonial signing of its latest Memorandum of Agreement on the Mentorship Program for Advanced Grants (July 2020- June 2023) and launch a call for research borne of this agreement on 26 November 2020, 1:00 p.m. (GMT +8:00) via the platform Zoom and Facebook. IFS and SEARCA share a desire to strengthen parallel efforts in building research capacities in Southeast Asia. The complex and evolving contexts in the region call for developing researchers and the next generation of… Read more

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) renewed its long-established partnership in human resource development with the granting of scholarship slots for Southeast Asians to pursue graduate studies. This scholarship programme is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). DAAD and SEARCA initiated its partnership in school year 1975-1976 for a graduate scholarship leading to MS and PhD degrees in agriculture. The first 15 beneficiaries of DAAD were graduate students from Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. To date, DAAD and SEARCA… Read more

Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, a Professor at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB)-College of Agriculture and Food Science and Director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), took his oath as Chairperson of the Technical Panel for Agriculture (TPA) under the Commission for Higher Education (CHED) on 9 November 2020 in a ceremony held online via Zoom. Commissioner Oversight Dr. Ronald L. Adamat gave his insights on the pressing issue of enticing agriculture to Filipino students as a prelude to the oath taking ceremony. He mentioned that, “it’s high time that… Read more

The Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) will hold its 33rd Executive Board Meeting on 24-25 November 2020 online and it will be hosted by Kasetsart University (KU) in Bangkok, Thailand. The UC was established in 1989 to share resources and collaborate on student and faculty exchanges among leading agricultural universities. The consortium is anticipating the virtual attendance of representatives from its regular members, Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB), Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), and Universitas Brawijaya (UB). Also invited to the board meeting… Read more

The Economy and Environment Group Philippines (EEG Philippines), a program of the Resource and Environmental Economics Foundation of the Philippines (REAP) Incorporated, together with the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), will hold the 1st National Conference on Health, Environment and Economic Development: The Road to Recovery and Resiliency (HEED the 3Rs) from 19 to 20 November 2020 via Zoom online platform. The conference aims to gather researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and other representatives from disciplines of health, environment, economics, and other related fields and discuss the latest progress and developments in areas related to… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the Brussels-based Impact Licensing Initiative (ILI) formalized a joint commitment to help small farming communities through the local integration of sub-licensed  technology—such as cold chain—for better post-harvest processes and market access. SEARCA Director Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio and ILI General Manager Johan Moyersoen, represented by ILI Executive Board Member Bruno Vandermeulen, signed the Memorandum of Understanding on institutional partnership through a virtual ceremony on 7 October 2020. Dr. Gregorio said “Accelerating transformation through agricultural innovation or ATTAIN is the essence of SEARCA’s 11th Five-year Plan. By… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the Resource and Environmental Economics Foundation of the Philippines, Inc. (REAP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for institutional cooperation on 7 October 2020 at SEARCA Headquarters. Under the MOU, SEARCA and REAP committed to collaborate on a number of activities for five years, including programs, projects, and other related activities to education, training and research in agriculture and environmental science. REAP is an organization duly recognized by the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Republic of the Philippines, and the legal entity of the Economy… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) conducted a Stakeholders Forum on 28 October 2020 to gather experts and thought leaders from the academe, industry, and government to weigh in on the status of agricultural and rural development (ARD) in Southeast Asia and define a forward-looking and transformative ARD in the region from various perspectives. “Through the years, we have been conducting numerous projects, programs, and policy formations, but one thing that keeps us going is how we can sustain all these activities. Upon closer introspection, it is important to emphasize that the nature… Read more

The deadline for young Filipino innovators to register for the Innovation Olympics 2.0, an “agri hackathon” to develop innovative solutions for the farming sector, has been extended until 17 November 2020 because of typhoon Rolly. The Innovation Olympics 2.0 is made possible by the partnership of East-West Seed with the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), Sensient Colors LLC, University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), UPLB-Technology Transfer and Business Development Office (UPLB-TTBDO), UPLB Startup Innovation and Business Opportunity Linkaging Labs (SIBOL Labs), and APEX: The UPLB Business Network. The organizers have also dropped… Read more