THE Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) is offering travel grants to scientists, researchers, graduate students and other professionals working in agriculture and rural development (ARD).
SEARCA will provide $1,200 per travel grant.
Leah Lyn Domingo, SEARCA public relations specialist, said the grant would enable those eligible from southeast Asia to participate and present technical papers in scientific conferences and forums held locally or internationally.
"The travel grants are meant to promote the dissemination of scientific knowledge vital to ARD, as well as facilitate linkaging and partnerships between SEARCA and the grantee's home institution and other development organizations," she added.
For travels to attend conferences from July to September this year, the deadline of application is on June 7. To qualify, the paper for presentation should be aligned with SEARCA's current priority thrusts.
Domingo said the priority thrusts were social inclusion in ARD, sustainable ARD, regional and subregional cooperation, and institutions and governance.
Under the broad topic of social inclusion in ARD are participation in poor and vulnerable sectors of rural societies in food and agricultural value chains and agribusiness commodity systems, food and nutrition security for poor and vulnerable sectors, and productivity-enhancing innovations and modern technologies.
Domingo explained that under sustainable ARD were natural resource management, climate change mitigation and adaptation in ARD, and resilience of agricultural systems to climate impacts.
Other specific areas of concern are subregional cooperation in trade and investments; regional market, trade and economic integration; and government policies, institutions and governance mechanisms and reforms for inclusive and sustainable agricultural and rural development, she added.
Domingo said alumni and scholars, regular staff members of nonprofit development-oriented institutions or graduate students of agricultural universities are given priority in the selection of travel grantees.