SEARCA News

BOGOR, Indonesia – A working committee for the Southeast Asia Rural Advisory Services (SEARAS) Network was formed during the regional meeting on rural advisory services on 26 August 2017 at Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB) here.  The meeting was attended by representatives from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and international organizations, which include the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), SEARCA, SEAMEO Regional Center for Tropical Biology (BIOTROP), World Agroforestry Centre, ASEAN Working Group for Agricultural Training and Education (AWGATE), Higher Education for Sustainable Agriculture (HESA), and Food Systems in Southeast Asia Project. … Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna, Philippines. The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) was invited by the Indonesia Ministry of Villages, Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration to present its major accomplishments and implementation strategies in community development at the 2017 Village Development Forum themed Representing the Village: Democracy, Autonomy, and Prosperity. This was held at the Sari Pan Pacific Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia on 24-25 August 2017. … Read more

Los Baños. The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA)-ASEAN Working Group on Social Forestry (AWG-SF) Strategic Response Fund [ASRF] program management unit invites ASEAN Member States (AMS) to submit proposals on Social Forestry. ASRF under the ASEAN-Swiss Partnership on Social Forestry and Climate Change (ASFCC) Phase 3 is designed to provide AWG-SF Leaders and Focal Points with seed fund to enable them to respond to immediate needs or catalyze strategic actions that will address emerging issues and opportunities to which response of the AMS and AWG-SF is critical. … Read more

Thirty-one students from seven-member universities of the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) converged at Kasetsart University (KU) on 17 – 18 August 2017 for the 3rd UC Graduate Forum with the theme, "Combatting Food and Energy Insecurity and Climate Change through Sustainable and Inclusive Agricultural Technologies and Innovations." The Forum was opened by Dr. Chongrak Wachrinrat, KU President, after a message given by Dr. Gil C. Saguiguit, Jr., SEARCA Director. Dr. Chantavit Sujatanond, Director of SEAMEO Regional Center for Higher Education and Development (RIHED), delivered the keynote speech, while Dr. Buncha Chinnasri… Read more

MANILA, Philippines – Dr. Bessie M. Burgos, Program Head for Research and Development of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), served as a panelist in an episode of the web series billed "2030" led by CIFAL Philippines. … Read more

Nineteen bio-business students from Tokyo University of Agriculture (Tokyo NODAI), Japan visited SEARCA on 17 August 2017 for a briefing on the Center's programs and activities. … Read more

VICTORIA, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines – The Victoria Kalamansi Farmers' Federation (VKFF) conducted another round of training on calamansi processing on 16 August 2017, in preparation for the market-testing and product-launching of the calamansi juice and concentrate to be produced by the federation by October 2017. The one-day training on calamansi processing was facilitated by SEARCA's implementing partners– Mindoro State College of Agriculture and Technology (MinSCAT) and the local government of Victoria. This initiative is in line with SEARCA's flagship program titled Piloting and Up-scaling Effective Models of Inclusive and Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development (ISARD). … Read more

Forty-two new MS and PhD students joined the roster of SEARCA scholars this Academic Year 2017-2018, bringing to 144 the number of scholars currently supported by SEARCA. On 13 August 2017, the Graduate Education and Institutional Development Department (GEIDD), headed by Dr. Maria Cristeta Cuaresma, Program Head, met with 64 scholars enrolled at UPLB to orient them of their privileges including health insurance, and be reminded of their responsibilities as SEARCA Scholars. The meeting also served as an opportunity for the scholars to get acquainted with each other -- to get to know who are on the same field of… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has firmed up its linkages with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and local government units (LGUs) at the Provincial Alliance Building Dialogue for the Province of Laguna as an alternative approach to reach farmers and grassroots communities. Los Baños-based SEARCA hosted the dialogue on 8 August 2017 in partnership with the DILG. … Read more

LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA– The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) concluded on 11 August 2017 the final leg of national inception workshops in five countries under the "Agricultural Transformation and Market Integration in the ASEAN Region: Responding to Food Security and Inclusiveness Concerns (ATMI-ASEAN)" Project funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The Philippine Government's Department of Agriculture (DA) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) co-organized the last inception workshop held at SEARCA Headquarters, Los Baños, Laguna… Read more