Dr. Mercedita Sombilla
Center Director
Dr. Mercedita Sombilla assumed office as SEARCA's 12th Center Director on 1 April 2025 and made history as the first woman to lead the Center. She brings with her extensive expertise and a wealth of experience from a distinguished and influential career defined by impactful contributions to research, policy, and leadership, spanning decades and traversing national, regional, and international landscapes.
Before joining SEARCA, she served as Undersecretary for Policy, Planning, and Regulations at the Department of Agriculture (DA), Philippines and Undersecretary of the Regional Development Group at the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Philippines.
Prior to her impactful government service, Dr. Sombilla devoted years as a full-time researcher and held key positions in renowned international organizations, including the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington D.C., the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines, and SEARCA. Her work focused on agricultural production, marketing, and trade, with emphasis on their impacts on food security, employment, and rural incomes. She also conducted in-depth studies on sustainable agricultural growth, rural transformation, and the effects of climate change on agriculture—themes reflected in her extensive publications that include policy briefs, monographs, journal articles, and co-authored books.
Dr. Sombilla's expertise extends beyond the academe and government, as evidenced by her consultancy work for development institutions like Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Australian Centre International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the International Development Research Centre of Canada (IDRC) as well as various Philippine government agencies.
Currently, she is the Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Agricultural Economists, an active member of the International Agricultural Economics Association, and sits in the Board of Directors of the Oscar M. Lopez Center.
Dr. Sombilla holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and a Master's degree in Economics from the University of the Philippines Diliman. She earned her PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Minnesota, USA.
