SEARCA News

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines – Mr. Christian Strowa, Head of the Asia Pacific Section, and Ms. Heike Schӓdlich, Team Leader for South and Southeast Asia, both from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) office in Bonn, visited SEARCA on 24 August 2018, to discuss the regulations and monitoring procedures of the new DAAD In-Region/In-Country Scholarship Programme. Twenty-one Southeast Asian nationals were awarded scholarships under this new scheme through SEARCA to pursue their graduate studies starting academic year 2018-2019. … Read more

MONTPELLIER, France – SEARCA has supported the participation of Dr. Rico Ancog in the France Excellence Summer on OneHealth Approach to Fight Antimicrobial Resistance held in the headquarters of the Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) in Montpellier, France, last July 2018. Dr. Ancog is an assistant professor at the School of Environmental Science and Management (SESAM), University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), and UPLB’s focal person for CIRAD’s GREASE Research Network for emerging risks in Southeast Asia. … Read more

Fourteen participants from Myanmar, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and the Philippines participated in the Short Course on Planetary Health Approach in Addressing Food Safety Considerations and Environmental Challenges held at the SEARCA Headquarters from 13-17 August 2018. … Read more

TAIPEI, Taiwan – The success of the School-plus-home Gardens Project, a collaborative action research project among SEARCA, the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), and the Department of Education (DepEd)-Division of Laguna, had the opportunity to be shared to participants during the 2018 Asia-Pacific Societies for Agricultural and Food Ethics (APSafe) Conference in collaboration with the European Societies for Agricultural and Food Ethics (EurSafe) held at the National Taiwan University, Taipei from 10 to 12 May 2018. The paper, Linking School Gardening and Feeding: Experience from the School-Plus-Home Gardens Project (S+HGP) in the Philippines, was presented by Dr. Blesilda… Read more

QUEZON CITY, Philippines – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), in cooperation with the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA), organized the 1st National Project Steering Committee (NPSC) Meeting of the Philippine component of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)-funded project Agricultural Transformation and Market Integration in the ASEAN Region: Responding to Food Security and Inclusiveness Concerns (ATMI-ASEAN) on 3 August 2018 here. The meeting served as a venue for the newly-formed committee to learn more about the project, and discuss national-level activities, primarily the conduct of the policy study on processed pork meat… Read more

BANGKOK, Thailand – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), in partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), has successfully conducted the Best Practices in Agricultural Advisory Services (AAS) in Asia and the Pacific Islands: A Regional Learning Event and Experience Sharing held on 30-31 July 2018 at Centara Watergate Hotel here. The learning event is one of the major project milestones of the IFAD-funded project being implemented by SEARCA titled "Supporting Smallholder Farmers in Asia and the Pacific Islands Region through Strengthened Agricultural Advisory Services (SAAS)."… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines – A one-day forum discussed gaps and directions to reshape agriculture and development in Southeast Asia and called for changing and enhancing the policy, implementation, and program management approaches that redound to improving the lot of the smallholder farmers who contribute 70 percent of the food produced in the region… Read more

TAGAYTAY CITY, Philippines – The International School of Sustainable Tourism (ISST), Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), and Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) joined hands to lead the first Global Farm Tourism Summit to discuss the benefits of adding a tourism component to farms while promoting sustainability… Read more

SEARCA, with funding from the Food Security Center (FSC) of the University of Hohenheim, Germany, co-sponsored the 2nd International Conference on Energy Economics (ENERCON 2018) held on 19-20 July 2018 at Acacia Hotel, Alabang, Muntinlupa City, Metro Manila, Philippines. … Read more

Mr. Charlie B. Batin, SEARCA scholar pursuing PhD in Forestry at UPLB, presented his paper titled "Seed Germination, Seedling Performance, and Oil Content of Jatropha curcas L. Fruit Based on Color at Two Different Seasons in Northern Philippines," at the 2018 Asian Conference on Civil, Material, and Environmental Sciences (ACCMES) held in Tokyo, Japan on 10-12 July 2018. Mr. Batin also chaired the session on the presentation of papers by researchers and scientists from educational institutions of Taiwan. … Read more