Research and development programs of SEARCA are geared toward analyzing impacts of previous development efforts and policy gaps in support of continuing initiatives on agricultural development, food security, and poverty reduction. SEARCA R&D's focal thrusts are Agricultural Competitiveness and Natural Resource Management.
- Agricultural Competitiveness
Rural growth is the key to poverty reduction and food security among developing countries of Southeast Asia. The development, progress, and resilience of rural economy are greatly anchored on their abilities to produce products and services that meet market requirements. more>>
- Natural Resource Management (NRM)
The ability of agriculture to sustainably address the twin goals of food security and poverty reduction largely depends on the integrity of the natural resource base. Unsustainable management could easily disrupt the interrelated and interdependent relationship of agricultural and natural resource productivity. more>>
Aside from conducting appropriate and relevant researches along its two guiding posts of Agricultural Competitiveness and Natural Resource Management, SEARCA also takes an active role in helping shape agricultural research and policy directions in the region through the following strategies:
- Policy Input Provision
SEARCA translates Research and Development (R&D) results into policy enhancing inputs such as lessons learned, insights gained; and paves the way for comparative assessments of what will and will not work in various situations. Ir provides policy briefs and venues for articulating different perspectives to generate policy enhancing inputs.
- Capacity Building on Impact Assessment
To gauge the success of R&D initiatives, SEARCA evaluates their impacts in terms of capacities being put in place.
- Sustainable Models and Systems
SEARCA ensures that R&D efforts lead to building and consequently adopting sustainable models and systems. It aims at identifying land and water resource management enhancing systems, as well as, competitiveness enhancing technologies.
- Innovative Models and Resource Utilization and Sharing
Faced with increasing challenge and demands of R&D, SEARCA needs to develop productivity enhancing but resource-saving modes such as partnerships, collaborations and resource sharing at various levels of R&D initiatives.
