SEARCA News

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) celebrated its 56th Anniversary with the theme “Pursuing Excellence through Continuous Learning and Development and Wellness” on 27 November 2022. Various learning and development activities were organized to help staff become better both in their personal and professional growth. Development organizations like SEARCA conduct wellness activities for the employees to drive significant productivity, help them meet deadlines, and build organizational support. To jumpstart the month-long celebration, the Human Resource Management Unit (HRMU) arranged a vaccination program on 11 November 2022 to promote wellness and a healthy living… Read more

The Southeast Asia Regional Center for Graduate Study in Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Catanduanes State University (CatSU) in a virtual ceremony held via Zoom on 11 January 2023. CatSU is a research and higher education institution (HEI) located in Catanduanes, Philippines. Dubbed as the green university of the Philippine eastern pacific seaboard, the university envisions to foster excellence, holistic, and inclusive education attuned to the demands of a diverse world towards the formation of productive and value-laden lives. Under the five-year accord, both parties agree to collaborate in undertaking programs, projects, and… Read more

Pili farmers and entrepreneurs in the Bicol region were organized to revive their livelihood activities hindered by the pandemic and typhoons. With the funding support of SEARCA, the Socio-Economic Development Program Multi-Purpose Cooperative (SEDP MPC) engaged 17 barangays in five municipalities to prepare to launch a pili processing facility in Albay. The SEARCA Grants for Research towards Agricultural Innovative Solutions (GRAINS) funded the project entitled “Technology Adoption for People-Centered Innovation and Livelihood Integration (PILI).” The project was groundwork for a facility that aims to help 500 farmers and 1300 women entrepreneurs generate 20 percent added income from pili processing. Construction… Read more

In a bid to provide farmers better access to supplies for agricultural production, SEARCA supported a project to digitize agri-supply stores through the GoEden online platform. GoEden consolidates products from various agri-supply stores into a one-stop online shop. This helps farmers cut travel time to multiple stores and avoid settling for products that fall short of requirements. The goal is to provide farmers a wide choice of products through an organized e-commerce platform. The SEARCA Grants for Research towards Agricultural Innovative Solutions (GRAINS) funded the digital agriculture project implemented by the startup company, Zion Agricultural Ventures. Entitled “Improving Farmers Access… Read more

Mr. Nir Balzam, Deputy Chief of Mission, who headed the Embassy of Israel delegation that visited the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on 14 November 2022, broached areas of possible collaboration. Mr. Balzam, Mr. Moshe Broner, Israeli Expert, and Ms. Dee Urtua, Embassy of Israel Development Cooperation Officer, were joined by Dr. Glenn Gregorio, SEARCA Director; Asst. Prof. Glenn Baticados, Program Head, Emerging Innovation for Growth Department (EIGD); Dr. Gerlie T. Tatlonghari, Program Head, Research and Thought Leadership Department (RTLD); Dr. Nova Ramos, Head, Training for Development Unit (T4DU); Ms. Sharon Malaiba, Head… Read more

SEARCA, through the Education and Collective Learning Department – Graduate Scholarship and Institutional Development Unit (ECLD-GSIDU), will conduct an Online Training on Presenting Research for SEARCA Scholars on January 16, 19, 23, 26, and February 2 from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM (GMT +8). The learning event is the final offering of a two-part capacity-building program on communicating scientific information to an academic audience. The first part tackled scientific writing for publications in August 2022. SEARCA invited experts from the College of Development Communication (CDC), University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB), to share their knowledge and expertise on disseminating… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) welcomes Assoc. Prof. Ts. Dr. Nur Azura Binti Adam, a distinguished educator and administrator at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), as its new Deputy Director for Programs effective 1 January 2023. Her appointment is for a three-year term. “I am very happy that we now have Dr. Nur as our Deputy Director for Programs since the post had been vacant since 2006. I am doubly pleased that with Dr. Nur we have not only the first Malaysian but also the first lady to become Deputy Director for Programs,”… Read more

The National Taiwan University (NTU), a member of the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC), visited the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on 6 January 2023. The NTU-College of Bioresources and Agriculture (CBA) contingent was led by its Dean, Prof. Dr. Huu-Sheng Lur, while the NTU-International College (IC) contingent was led by its Dean and Director of Master of Science in Global Agriculture Technology and Genomic Science (Global ATGS), Dr. Shu-Jen Wang. Dr. Je-Ruei Liu, Associate Dean and Professor, NTU-Institute of Biotechnology, presented the Bachelor Program… Read more

Ms. Anna Katharina Rusche, Head of Section, Scholarship Programmes Asia and the Pacific, and Ms. Natalie Bursinski, Section Officer for Asia ST34-Asia Pacific, both of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), visited the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on 29 November 2022. During their visit, the DAAD delegation met with the SEARCA's Education and Collective Learning Department (ECLD) to discuss DAAD’s call for proposal for the next intake of the In-Country/In-Region Scholarship Programme for 2024-2025. DAAD, a German institution in Europe and considered one of the largest funding organizations for international exchange, contributes to… Read more

The latest papers published in the Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development (AJAD) discuss grim possibilities of a world food crisis—brought about by the war in Ukraine, climate shocks experienced by major food granaries, and of course, COVID—and a variety of country-specific hurdles in agriculture and development in Asia. Equally important with these debacles are tested responses offered by the authors, which could hopefully replicate positive outcomes. C. Peter Timmer, a leading authority on agriculture and rural development and Harvard University emeritus, provides his viewpoint on the potential world food crisis "worse than any since World War II." In his… Read more