SEARCA News

MAKATI CITY - Eleven Southeast Asian nationals received their scholarship awards under the In-Country/In-Region Scholarship Programme by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) through the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture or SEARCA. The scholarship award is for academic year 2019-2020 to pursue their graduate studies at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). The DAAD Handover Ceremony was held on 25 November 2019 at the German Club, Makati City. The First Secretary for Cultural Affairs, Mr. Kai Tomzig, assisted by Mrs. Katja Becker-Sliwa, DAAD representative and Lecturer at UP Diliman, handed over the… Read more

"When you are an agriculturist or scientist, you will see the world and the world will see you" - these were the words of Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) Director, Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio to the delegates of the 4th Agri-biotech Boot Camp held on November 13-15, 2019 at Los Baños, Laguna. Dr. Gregorio, currently the youngest scientist in the country to have been named as an Academician by the National Academy of Science and Technology, underlined the importance of engaging the youth in agri-technology and encouraged the students to explore a career… Read more

ORIENTAL MINDORO AND LEYTE – Now on its wrap up stage, SEARCA's project titled Piloting and Up-scaling Effective Models of Inclusive and Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development visited its two pilot sites in Inopacan, Leyte and Victoria, Oriental Mindoro on 12-15 and 18-19 November 2019, respectively. The activity was held in preparation for the writing of the project guidebook. It was led by Dr. Jose R. Medina, ISARD Overall Program Coordinator; Dr. Jose R. Bacusmo, Leyte On-Site Coordinator; Dr. Ma. Conception Mores, Mindoro On-Site Coordinator; and Dr. Lily Ann Lando, ISARD Guidebook Writer. Ms. Donna Bae N. Malayang, Program Associate… Read more

MAKATI CITY, Philippines. In order to provide a multi-stakeholder perspective on the current issue of rice tariffication, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research and Agriculture (SEARCA), through its Research and Development Department (RDD), hosted a parallel session entitled, “Regional Implications of the Philippine Rice Tariffication Law”, during the Inaugural Rice Research Symposium of the World Rice Conference (WRC) organized by the The Rice Trader (TRT) on 13 November 2019 at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel. Republic Act 11203, otherwise known as the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), has recently been passed in the Philippines with the purpose of… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) have agreed to continue cooperating on programs that will mainstream biodiversity in agriculture. In a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed on 4 November 2019, the two international organizations agree to carry on their collaboration to pursue their common objective of building capacities of the ASEAN Member States (AMS) in biodiversity conservation as it relates to agriculture and food. Signatories to the MOU were Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, SEARCA Director, and Dr. Theresa Mundita S. Lim, ACB Executive Director. SEARCA and… Read more

MAKATI CITY, Philippines – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research and Agriculture (SEARCA) will be hosting a parallel session entitled, Regional Implications of the Philippine Rice Tariffication Law, during the Inaugural Rice Research Symposium organized by the The Rice Trader (TRT) to be held on 13 November 2019 at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel. The Research Symposium is part of the TRT's 11th World Rice Conference. Republic Act 11203, otherwise known as the Rice Tariffication Law, has recently been passed in the Philippines with the purpose of lifting existing quantitative import restrictions on rice. With the current influx… Read more

SEARCA scholars, Mr. Prasetyo Nugroho and Ms. Wannasiri Wannasupchue, participated and presented part of their research results in separate international conferences. Mr. Prasetyo Nugroho, a SEARCA PhD Research Scholar pursuing PhD in Animal Nutrition and Feed Science at Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB) in Indonesia, received the Best Paper Award for his research titled, "Blood hematology Profile and Immunoglobulin G at Postpartum in Ettawa Grade Does Fed Flushing Diets with Fatty Acid Differences During Late Gestation" during the 1st International Conference on Veterinary, Animal, and Environmental Sciences (ICVAES 2019) held on 14-17 October 2019 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The conference was… Read more

SELANGOR, Malaysia – SEARCA, through its Graduate Education and Institutional Development Department (GEIDD), conducted an orientation on scholarship guidelines and responsibilities for new and ongoing scholars studying at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) on 31 October 2019. Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, SEARCA Director, took this opportunity to meet and welcome the 21 scholars, out of 34 SEARCA scholars enrolled at UPM, who attended the meeting. Dr. Gregorio also mentioned SEARCA's new collaboration with the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI). He highlighted that this collaboration will open opportunities for scholars studying at UPM to conduct part of their research at… Read more

Southeast Asian photographers, both amateurs and professionals across all ages, have until 30 November 2019 to beat the submission deadline for the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) Photo Contest 2019. The theme Cultivating Southeast Asia's Youth Agripreneurs spotlights SEARCA's challenge to respond to "the 'new normal' conditions in the Southeast Asia region, (which) compel SEARCA and all of its key partners to initiate a paradigm shift and deliver greater impact on the lives of the primary stakeholders, the farmers and farming families, including the youth," affirms Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, SEARCA's newly installed… Read more

The Department of Agriculture (DA) through its Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR), and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) jointly organized the 4th National Community-based Participatory Action Research (CPAR) Congress held on 28-29 October 2019 at the BSWM Convention Hall, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines. The congress was conducted to highlight the major results of DA-BAR's Community-based Participatory Action Research Program, which is a location-specific research cum extension activity that involves the verification and/or adaptation/demonstration of improved farming systems technologies and practices to suit the needs and requirements of a specific micro-agro-climatic environment within… Read more