SEARCA News

LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA, Philippines – Deans and Heads of Animal Science and Crop Science Departments of six (6) member universities of the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) revisited the status of curriculum and research programs on pasture and forage crops through a roundtable discussion held at the SEARCA Headquarters on 24- 25 April 2019. The two-day meeting aimed to identify the strengths, gaps, opportunities, and challenges in curriculum and research programs, and to recommend solutions to address the gaps and challenges, including those faced by students pursuing forage and pasture science as… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA, Philippines – In its continuous commitment to promote inclusivity and sustainability in the agricultural value chain development, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) conducted the 2nd Value Chain Development (VCD) Course on 22-26 April 2019 at the SEARCA Headquarters, here.  On its second year, the SEARCA-pioneered VCD course aimed to look through the agricultural value chain lens in order to analyze and design interventions to promote value addition for various value chain players, especially the marginalized actors in the process. Accordingly, the course also sought to capacitate the participants in… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna – The Project Team for the "Promotion and Dissemination of Integrated Pest Management Strategies," a component of the project Upgrading the Calamansi Value Chain towards Improving the Calamansi Industry in Oriental Mindoro, conducted a pest and disease baseline survey in calamansi farms and plant nurseries accredited by the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) in the province of Oriental Mindoro on 10-12 April 2019.  The team conducted focused group discussions (FGDs) with farmer-groups and associations in Victoria (Victoria Kalamansi Farmers Federation, VKFF) and Pola (Matulatula Agrarian Reform Community Cooperative, MARCCO, and the Matulatula Fruits and Citrus Growers Association… Read more

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia – Fifteen Halal researchers, academicians, and officers from government regulatory bodies across six Southeast Asian countries participated in the four-day regional event here dubbed Understanding the Fundamentals of Halal towards Food Security in the ASEAN Region.  The workshop was held at the Everly Putrajaya Hotel on 8-11 April 2019. It was a collaboration between the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), together with the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) and the Food Security Center (FSC) of the University… Read more

ORIENTAL MINDORO, Philippines – A baseline study on plant nursery operators and calamansi processors was conducted by the project team composed of staff from UPLB, together with partners from Mindoro State College of Agriculture and Technology (MinSCAT), and the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPAg) of Oriental Mindoro on 1-6 April 2019 in the municipalities of Victoria, Pola, and Roxas for the project Upgrading the Calamansi Value Chain towards Improving the Calamansi Industry of Oriental Mindoro.  Of the eight plant nursery operators interviewed, only three were accredited by the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI). The retail price of the calamansi… Read more

SINGAPORE – SEARCA led the Regional Workshops on Knowledge Management (KM) and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Systems (MEALS) on 12-13 March 2019 at Hotel Chancellor in Singapore. The regional workshops were conducted under the project supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) titled Supporting Smallholder Farmers in Asia and Pacific Islands Region through Strengthened Agricultural Advisory Services (SAAS).  The back-to-back workshops had 18 participants from Agricultural Extension in South Asia (AESA), Asia-Pacific Islands Rural Advisory Services Network (APIRAS), Bangladesh Agricultural Extension Network (BAEN), Philippine Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Training Institute (DA-ATI), Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Central Asia… Read more

ILOCOS NORTE, Philippines – More than a hundred participants composed of farmers, local government officials and representatives from the private sector and academe from the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and La Union attended the Biotechnology 101 and Joint Department Circular (JDC) No. 1, Series of 2016 Public Briefing held at Plaza del Norte, Laoag City, Ilocos Norte on March 28, 2019.  Scientists and experts from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and the Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines gave presentations on the science of biotechnology, food and environmental safety of genetically modified (GM) crops, different biotech… Read more

MANILA, Philippines – Forty-three delegates from 10 Asian countries composed of farmer-leaders, scientists and the academia, media, as well as representatives from government and private institutions gathered for the week-long 13th Pan-Asia Farmers' Exchange Program held last 1-5 April 2019 in Manila, Philippines.  Discussions focused on communicating biotech in the Philippines, the country's biosafety regulations for biotech crops, insect resistance management program, the current status of agri-biotech in each country, and plant breeding innovations. The group also went to a commercial Bt Corn farm in the province of Tarlac and paid a visit to the International Rice Research Institute as… Read more

BALI, Indonesia - The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) participated in the 8th Ad-Hoc Steering Committee on Climate Change and Food Security (AHSC CCFS) of the ASEAN, held in Bali, Indonesia on 28-29 March 2019. Dr. Pham Quang Minh, Head of Food, Agriculture and Forestry (FAF) Division, ASEAN Sectoral Development Directorate, ASEAN Secretariat, chaired the meeting.  The meeting was set to inform the steering committee of key climate change-related decisions from the Special 39th Senior Officials Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (SOM-39th AMAF) and from the 40th AMAF. It… Read more

Ms. Sekar Wulan Prasetyaningtyas, a SEARCA scholar pursuing PhD in Agribusiness at the Institut Pertanian Bogor in Indonesia presented her paper entitled, The Application of Soft System Methodology in Designing the Sustainability Strategy for Organic Farming in Indonesia at the Sydney International Business Research Conference (SIBRC) 2019 held on 23–25 March 2019 in Sydney, Australia. … Read more