SEARCA in the News

Family farms account for more than 90% of all farms worldwide and as such they play a critical role in food production. This was affirmed by Senator Cynthia A. Villar, Chair of the Philippine Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food in her keynote message at the 2nd National Small and Family Farmers/New and Beginning Farmers Conference hosted and co-organized by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) recently. “Family farms are truly key players for inclusive growth and rural development, as well as to our food-secure future,” she said. Held in partnership with MoCA… Read more

Los Baños, Laguna—The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture has honored Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio as its new director with a formal investiture ceremony on Monday at its headquarters here. SEARCA is one of the oldest specialist institutions of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization hosted by the Philippine government on the campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baños. The institution was founded in 1966 to serve the agricultural and rural development needs of Southeast Asian countries through graduate education and training, research, and knowledge dissemination. Education Secretary Leonor M. Briones graced… Read more

Almost six months after Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio took the helm, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) will honor him as its new Director with a formal investiture ceremony on 28 October 2019 at its headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines. Hosted by the Philippine government on the campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), SEARCA is one of the oldest specialist institutions of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO). SEARCA was founded in 1966 to serve the agricultural and rural development needs of Southeast Asian countries through… Read more

Philippine-based Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has formally installed Glenn B. Gregorio as its 11th director. Hosted by the Philippine government on the campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), SEARCA is one of the oldest specialist institutions of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO). SEARCA was founded in 1966 to serve the agricultural and rural development needs of Southeast Asian countries through graduate education and training, research, and knowledge dissemination. Gregorio assumed office in May 2019. He brings to SEARCA his wide experience from three decades of… Read more

"The reality of digitalizing agriculture is won or lost at the farmer level, where applicability and sustainability have to be tested," a top official of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) said. SEARCA director Glenn Gregorio said they were "working toward elevating the quality of life of farmers by improving their access to new, sustainable, resilient production technologies and systems and help them integrate with modern postharvest and logistics systems." Speaking before hundreds of scientists, researchers, and educators at the 25th Federation of Crop Science Societies of the Philippines (FCSSP) and the 1st… Read more

One of the key issues confronting Philippine agriculture (and the rest of the world!) is to what extent organic agriculture should be pushed to replace the current mainstream agricultural practices, also collectively referred to, as conventional agriculture. This was the theme of the public consultation organized by the Coalition for Agriculture Modernization in the Philippines, Inc. (CAMP), the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD-DOST), and the Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB), College of Agriculture and Food Science held at UP Los… Read more

A gift that keeps on giving, Cebu, with all its attractions, is also home to a host of garden and farm-themed resorts, attracting visitors looking to learn more about farming and organic food. Located in the upland barangays are Sirao Flower Farm, Jaime Chua's Orchid Farm, Adlawon Vacation Farm, MSDEA Ornamental Garden, Terrazas de Flores, Serenity Farm and Resort, and Lava Mountain River Farm, which have been continuously drawing tourists from all over the country. North of the city are Valentin Farm and Resort in Consolacion and Alhibe Farm in Carmen, which further strengthen Cebu's status as an emerging farm… Read more

CEBU IS SYNONYMOUS to Sinulog Festival, colonial-era houses and churches, succulent lechon and seafood, and powdery beaches, and luxury hotels. But unknown to many, the Queen City of the South is also home to a host of garden and farm-themed resorts in the upland villages where tourists can enjoy crisp mountain air, fresh and organic food, and recreational amenities, away from the madding crowd and traffic. And among the farm resorts which have been drawing visitors are Sirao Flower Farm, Jaime Chua's Orchid Farm, Adlawon Vacation Farm, MSDEA Ornamental Garden, Terrazas de Flores, Serenity Farm and Resort, and Lava Mountain… Read more

The use of genetic modification, including genomic selection and molecular marker-assisted breeding, to improve certain traits of plants, crop improvement could become long process to develop a commercially ready product, which is why some plant scientists shy away from it. Glenn Gregorio, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), said many are impatient with that process and offer better techniques and tools to shorten the process, but still fail in the implementation of a new breeding program. Gregorio stated this position as speaker at the Association of Academies and Societies of Sciences in Asia (AASSA)-Korean… Read more

LOS BANOS, Laguna, Oct. 17 -- The ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) reiterated its call to mainstream biodiversity into the food production systems, underscoring the benefits of biodiversity-rich approaches to the food security agenda. "It's high time to rethink and innovate the way we produce our food. Diverse food production systems can better nourish and improve the health of both rural and urban population, not to mention biodiversity's role in building resilience to climate change," ACB Executive Director Theresa Mundita Lim said on the occasion of the World Food Day. World Food Day is celebrated on 16 October every year… Read more