SEARCA in the News

FACULTY members of the Taiwan-based National Dong Hwa University (NDHU) visited the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) to explore areas of collaboration on science and technology. SEARCA Director Dr. Glenn Gregorio and other SEARCA officials welcomed NDHU faculty members led by Vice President Prof. Yuan-Ron Ma during their visit on March 30, 2023. Famous for its liberal yet conducive learning atmosphere, NDHU is a renowned university in Hualien, Taiwan with three campuses at Shoufeng, Meilun and Pingtun. During the meeting, Gregorio said NDHU benchmarked SEARCA's programs and activities on science and technology. On… Read more

Stakeholders from Palawan visited Laguna province for benchmarking on Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture's (SEARCA) school and community gardens initiatives, also known as the School-Plus-Home Garden Program (S+HGP). SEARCA Director Glenn Gregorio said the SEARCA-organized weeklong study visit from March 27 to 31, 2023 for the key stakeholders of Busuanga Island, Palawan was in recognition of the need for a sustainable program to foster strong partnerships among various stakeholders and develop policies that will sustain school and community gardens initiatives. Gregorio said the activity aimed to provide technical assistance to key partners from the… Read more

Cooperation and the sharing of learning to shape a better world anchored the launching of the world's first green travel mart. Ecotourism experts and environmental protection advocates from 25 nations like Myanmar, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia attended the opening of the five-day International Ecotourism Travel Mart (IETM) in Silang, Cavite which will be open to the public until April 2. Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco spoke of ecotourism's role in sustainable development: "It can create jobs and generate revenue for local communities while also raising awareness about the importance of preserving natural and cultural heritage." Silang Mayor Alston Kevin… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) is emboldening the students of the Batangas province-based Balete Family Farm School Inc. (BFFS) in a learning event that will enable them to refine the business plans they developed as part of their family enterprise project and gain additional learning on agripreneurship. Dr. Glenn Gregorio, SEARCA director, said the BFFS has the distinction of being the only all-female family farm school in Asia. The BFFS teaching and administrative staff as well as students are all female. All the students are in junior high school. "In view of… Read more

Tourism Secretary Maria Christina Frasco aired his utmost support in the conduct of the four-day International Eco-Tourism Travel Mart in Silang, Cavite starting 29 March to 1 April 2023. “We would like to congratulate the event organizers and the people of Silang for being chosen as the venue for the event. This is in itself a source of pride because this is proof of the readiness and capability of the Municipality of Silang to host the undertaking participated in by more than 20 countries,” she said during the opening of the event on Wednesday. She said on the part of… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has joined ecotourism champions and practitioners in co-hosting the International Ecotourism Travel Mart (IETM) from March 29 to April 2, in Silang town in Cavite province. At the opening ceremony on Wednesday, March 29, SEARCA director Dr. Glenn Gregorio gave a special message and opened the SEARCA exhibit at the venue featuring the Center's publications, projects and activities. The exhibit used recycled and refurbished materials from SEARCA's previous events to promote sustainable practices and resource efficiency. Gregorio said SEARCA's participation in the IETM is led by the… Read more

A Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) professorial chair awardee has recently conducted a public lecture on wild edible mushrooms at the RET Amphitheatre of Central Luzon State University (CLSU). Known as the man of science in mushroom farming in the Philippines, Dr. Renato Reyes, CLSU vice president for Academic Affairs delivered his Professorial Chair Lecture on "Recent advances in the domestication and mykopharming of wild edible mushrooms in the Philippines for the bio-functional food industry." Reyes, who continuously developed innovative technologies for mushrooms to be sustainable and relevant, highlighted in his presentation the… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) is emboldening the all-female students of the Balete Family Farm School, Inc. (BFFS) in Batangas in a learning event that will enable them to refine the business plans they developed as part of their Family Enterprise Project and gain additional learning on agripreneurship. BFFS has the distinction of being the only all-female family farm school in Asia. The BFFS teaching and administrative staff as well as students are all female. All the students are in junior high school. “In view of this, the one-day learning activity to… Read more

Students of Japan-based universities visited the Philippine-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) to tour the SEARCA Hub for Agriculture and Rural Innovation for the Next Generation (Sharing) facilities. Dr. Glenn Gregorio, SEARCA director, said the Japanese students were from Japan's Nagasaki University (NU) in Nagasaki and Kobe University (KU) in Hyogo. Gregorio said the visit was part of the course, which was designed to engage the Japanese students in activities that would expand their knowledge of Philippine agriculture and Filipino culture. On March 1, 2023, seven NU students visited SEARCA. They were accompanied… Read more

THE Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has reaffirmed its partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd) through its School-Plus-Home Gardens Project (S+HGP). SEARCA's S+HGP project team visited director Nenneth Alama of DepEd's Bureau of Learner Support Services at DepEd Central Office on February 28, 2023. During the meeting, program specialist Anna Gale Vallez of SEARCA's Research and Thought Leadership Department (RTLD) led the presentation of the current programs and activities of SEARCA's S+HGP in the Philippines. In 2016, the S+HGP was dubbed as Participatory Action Research on School and Community-Based Food and Nutrition… Read more