SEARCA in the News

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and Sejong University in Seoul, Korea are jointly offering research scholarships to Filipinos and other Southeast Asians to earn master’s and doctoral degrees. The Sejong University-SEARCA Joint Graduate Research Scholarship for Southeast Asian Countries is open to Filipinos and nationals of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. SEARCA Director Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio said the aim of the joint scholarship is to strengthen the capacities of Southeast Asian scientists and researchers by enabling them to obtain master’s and doctoral degrees… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and APPGeese, Inc. have launched AgriEX, a digital agriculture exchange platform that allows fair trade via farm-to-fork system. Through its Emerging Innovation for Growth Department (EIGD), SEARCA has been working with APPGeese, a startup company based in Pasig, to establish a pilot digital agriculture platform in Laguna and Quezon particularly the vegetable farming communities at the foothold of Mt. Banahaw. “Since October 2020, SEARCA and APPGeese have been coordinating with local government units as well as meeting with leaders of farmer organizations and potential farmer-cooperators in Nagcarlan and Liliw… Read more

The Pasig-based startup company APPGeese, in partnership with the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), has launched AgriEX, a digital agriculture exchange platform that allows fair trade via farm-to-fork system part in Laguna and Quezon provinces, particularly the vegetable farming communities at the foothold of Mount Banahaw. Raymund Austria, APPGeese chief executive officer, said AgriEX will help the farmers attain financial inclusion with the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to be able to grow and manage their crops more efficiently. He said people can now preorder crops at preagreed prices, subscribe for… Read more

Emerging livestock diseases will entail enhanced biosecurity measures, animal disease experts from the Philippines, Australia and the United Kingdom said in a recent online forum. According to the Philippine-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture based in Los Baños, Laguna this was discussed in “Livestock Diseases and Zoonoses: How Secure are Biosecurity Measures?” Searca Director Glenn Gregorio said the forum through the Searca Online Learning and Virtual Engagements highlighted specific concrete and practical actions on the ground to disseminate and promote these to stakeholders in the agriculture sector and the public.  University of London Professor… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has published a book that illustrates the practical application of various research methodologies that support sustainable development. SEARCA Director Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio said the book is authored by scientists and researchers from the Philippines, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Vietnam. He stressed that the book highlights relevant methodologies used by the authors for their research in their countries to tackle the challenges that bear on sustainable development. As there have been many methodologies and strategies developed to solve specific problems to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)… Read more

“Approximately 70 percent of all emerging and reemerging pathogens are zoonotic, and we don’t know when the next threat, the next disease X will emerge.” This statement was made by Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the World Health Organization (WHO) at the 27th WHO Tripartite Annual Executive Committee Meeting on Animal Health on Feb. 17, 2021. The meeting coincided with the Searca Online Learning and Virtual Engagement through the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture. For the online forum, the Philippine-based Searca convened animal-disease experts from the Philippines, Australia and the United Kingdom in an… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna, 1 March --“Approximately 70% of all emerging and re-emerging pathogens are zoonotic, and we don’t know when the next threat—the next disease X—will emerge,” World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the 27th Tripartite Annual Executive Committee Meeting World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) held last February 17. On the same day, the Philippine government-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) convened animal disease experts from the Philippines, Australia, and the United Kingdom in an online forum that delved into “Livestock Diseases and Zoonoses: How Secure are Biosecurity Measures?”… Read more

THE Philippine government-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) said financial technology or fintech can link farmers with financial services outside the traditional banking system. SEARCA Director Glenn Gregorio said since finance is a driver of growth in the agriculture sector, there is a need to improve farmers’ access to financial instruments that is also key to their adoption of better farm technologies for greater productivity. “Fintech could be key to increasing agricultural productivity because of its huge potential for financial inclusion by making financial services and products accessible even to the marginalized farmers… Read more

LOS BANOS, Laguna, Feb 24 --Finance is a driver of growth in the agriculture sector but improving farmers’ access to financial instruments is also key to their adoption of better farm technologies for greater productivity. The prospects of financial technology (FinTech) in linking farmers with financial services outside the traditional banking system and improving the value chain are rife. This was explored during a recent online forum on the potential of FinTech in advancing agricultural development in the Philippines jointly organized by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and SyCip Gorres Velayo &… Read more

Filipinos won the second prize and People’s Choice Award in the 2020 Photo Contest of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). “The contest theme ‘Faces of Attain’ is part of the launch of SEARCA’s 11th  Five-Year Plan (2020-2025) focused on Accelerating Transformation Through Agricultural Innovation,” said SEARCA Director Glenn B. Gregorio. Michela Ramirez of Quezon City bagged the second prize for her photo showing a masked farmer tending to backyard seedlings. It reflected how many Filipinos suddenly turned to backyard farming for food and nutrition security when the country was put on lockdown… Read more