SEARCA in the News

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and Manila-based Synergygroup Operations, Inc. (SGOI) have teamed up to implement the School Edible Landscaping for Entrepreneurship (SEL4E) Project in Rizal Province. They formalized their partnership in a signing ceremony held on 1 July 2022 at SEARCA in Los Baños, Laguna. The SEL4E Project takes off from the success of the School-plus-Home Gardens Project (S+HGP) implemented by SEARCA in six elementary and high schools in Laguna wherein harvests from the school gardens provided fresh vegetables for the school-based feeding program and enhanced the food and nutrition security… Read more

The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB)-based Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) said it has 15 grantees of its Seed Fund for Research and Training (SFRT) program. SEARCA Director Dr. Glenn Gregorio said the SFRT is one of the support programs offered by the center which aims to provide start-up funds to researchers and scientists in the Southeast Asian (SEA) region. He explained that these grantees are those who want to make significant contributions to research, development, and knowledge dissemination but are hindered due to lack of funds. Gregorio said the SFRT… Read more

NONGOVERNMENT group Kids Who Farm (KWH) is utilizing hydroponics to lure the youth into agriculture. During the current Pista ng Pagkain at Kabataang Pinoy competition held by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca), KWH founder Muneer Hinay mentioned the benefits of hydroponics in serving to deal with meals safety on the native degree. “In hydroponics, the plant roots absorb balanced nutrients dissolved in water that meet all the plant development requirements. The basic setup is you have a container or grow box, water inside with nutrient solution and an air space so the… Read more

Improving postharvest management and the provision of post-harvest facilities are among the crucial interventions that must be prioritized to improve the productivity and competitiveness of our farmers and fisherfolks. A study from the Southeast Asian Regional Centre for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) released this year showed significant post-harvest losses experienced by the mango, tomato and onion industries in the Philippines. Among those cited in the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded study is the mango produced in Pangasinan and traded in Manila that incurred post-harvest loss of 30.85 percent, or a volume of 31,581 tonnes valued at ₱1.5 million… Read more

Ang pagpapabuti ng post-harvest management at ang pagkakaloob ng mga post-harvest facility ay kabilang sa mga mahahalagang hakbang upang mapataas ang productivity at competitiveness ng ating mga magsasaka at mangingisda. Ang isang pag-aaral mula sa Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) na inilabas ngayong taon ay nagpakita ng malaking pagkalugi sa post-harvest na naranasan ng mga industriya ng mangga, kamatis at sibuyas sa Pilipinas. Kabilang sa mga binanggit sa pag-aaral na pinondohan ng Asian Development Bank (ADB) ay ang mangga na mula sa Pangasinan at dinala sa Maynila na nagtala ng post-harvest loss na… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna: A non-profit organization established by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization has urged local government units (LGUs) to mainstream urban agriculture in response to the global pandemic. Dr. Glenn Gregorio, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) director, said institutionalizing urban agriculture in the Philippines as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic requires active leadership from the local government. This was Gregorio's emphasis as a presenter in the recently held knowledge-sharing forum organized by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies and the Socioeconomic Research Portal for the Philippines Network. In 2020… Read more

A STATE university-based instructor from Nueva Vizcaya is a grantee of the Leveling Up Philippine Higher Education Institutions in Agriculture, Fisheries, and Natural Resources (LevelUPHEI AFAR) project funded by the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd). According to the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), Ventura Chinaman, an instructor at the Nueva Vizcaya State University (NVSU) is ongoing with his mobility activities at Kasetsart University (KU) in Thailand until August 31. Through CHEd-funded project, SEARCA facilitates capacity-building activities and international linkages for Philippine higher education institutions (HEI). SEARCA said Chinaman will stay at KU for… Read more

A DUBAI-based scientist has conducted a plant breeding visit at the University of the Philippines-headquartered Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). SEARCA has assisted Dr. R. K. Singh of the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) in conducting an informal survey on the use of millets and quinoa as well as gathering information on their availability, accessibility and affordability in selected sites in the Philippines. Singh, who is the ICBA Crop Diversification and Genetics program leader and principal scientist on plant breeding, visited SEARCA and started his informal survey on June 2 to 7… Read more

Analysts, policy-makers, researchers, international donors and public-private groups convened in a high-level policy forum recently in Hanoi, Vietnam, where they deliberated on a five years of rigorous research. The research, “Agricultural Transformation and Market Integration in the ASEAN Region: Responding to Food Security and Inclusiveness Concerns [ATMI-ASEAN,]” is a program covering the Philippines, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam. It is jointly implemented by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Los Baños-based Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). It is funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Themed “Transforming Food Systems… Read more

MENURUT Rifqi Rahmat Hidayatullah, selain dari Universitas Brawijaya, tim lainnya berasal dari IPB University dan Universitas Teknologi Sumbawa (UTS). “Penelitian yang berjudul “Comparative of Greenhouse Gases Effect from Agriculture Activities in Bogor and Sumbawa” ini mulai dilaksanakan pada 1 Juni 2022 hingga 31 Mei 2023. Total hibah penelitian senilai 5.000 US dollar,” terang Rifqi Rahmat Hidayatullah, melalui rilis yang dikirim ke redaksi tabloidjawatimur.com, Sabtu (04/06/2022). Dalam rilisnya Rifqi Rahmat Hidayatullah, menjelaskan, dia memperoleh grant ini bersama Beata Ratnawati, ST, MSi, Leonard Dharmawan, SP., M.Si (dosen IPB University), Nurul Amri Komarudin, S.Si.,M.Si, Yuni Yolanda, SPi., M.Si dan Chairul Anam Afgani, STP, MP… Read more