Brunei Darussalam, through its Ministry of Education, is hosting on 19-21 October 2009 this year’s regular Governing Board meeting of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). This is the second time the sultanate has hosted such meeting since the country joined the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) in 1984. (SEAMEO is the mother organization of SEARCA.) This year’s meeting is SEARCA Governing Board’s 57th since SEARCA was established in 1966. It will be held at the SEAMEO Regional Centre for Vocational and Technical Education and Training in Gandong, Brunei Darussalam.

Yang Mulia Awang Haji Suhaila bin Haji Abdul Karim, Deputy Permanent Secretary of Higher Education of Brunei Darussalam's Ministry of Education will keynote the opening ceremonies of the 57^th GB Meeting.

The GB, composed of a representative from each member country, is the policymaking body of SEARCA. It conducts an annual evaluation of the Center's programs and budget.

Based in the Philippines, SEARCA promotes agricultural and rural development in Southeast Asia through graduate education, short-term training, research and development, and knowledge management. Its ultimate aim is to contribute to poverty reduction and food security. It covers all 11 Southeast Asian countries: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam.

Since 1984, 11 Brunei nationals have participated in SEARCA's graduate scholarship and short-term training program. Brunei Darussalam was also one of the country hubs of the ASEAN Integrated Pest Management Knowledge Network, an initiative for regional cooperation in sustainable development that was started by the Philippine government and hosted by SEARCA from 1998 to 2003.

Brunei's Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (MIPR) and SEARCA are now in the thick of producing a primer on Brunei's agriculture. This volume will become part of SEARCA's Southeast Asian Agriculture and Development Primer Series (SAADP) Series, which seeks to provide a concise yet comprehensive reference material on Southeast Asian agriculture. Each volume of the series presents the featured Southeast Asian country's state of agriculture in a holistic but concise form. It shows the institutions, structures, policies, and other areas affecting the sector's performance over the past three decades.

The Brunei Darussalam primer is authored by key persons from the Department of Agriculture, MIPR, namely: Dr. Haji Amzah bin Haji Abdul Rahman, Head of International Trade; Pg Hajah Rosidah bt Pg Hj Metussin, Assistant Director of Agriculture; and Hajah Aidah bt Haji Hanifah, Acting Deputy Director.