What is GRAINS?
SEARCA GRAINS offers short-term starter funds to collaborative actions aimed at transformative innovations for more sustainable agriculture and rural development across Southeast Asia.
GRAINS will support the translational research and community knowledge transfer of technologies and products that will lead to diffusion or adoption through partnership with the players and actors in the agro-innovation ecosystem, such as scientists, inventors, technology business incubators and accelerators, funders and backers, universities, research institutions, as well as startups, small and medium enterprises, corporations, and non-government organizations that share the goal of SEARCA.
Grant Support
| Institutional grantees | Individual grantees |
| USD 10,000 – USD 15,000 (PHP 500,000 – PHP 750,000) | USD 5,000 – USD 10,000 (PHP 250,000 – PHP 500,000) |
Why GRAINS?
SEARCA GRAINS helps inventors, change makers, and agripreneurs turn their ideas into reality, bridging the gap between an idea and a prototype. GRAINS supports scaling up of a technology or innovation model, establishment of agri-technology startups, and community knowledge transfer projects.
Specifically, GRAINS champions transformational innovation related to agriculture, forestry, fishery, and public health through:
- Technical or customer validation of experimental proof of concept
- Establishment of prototype of a technology or innovation model
- Development of technology prototype or innovation model
- Piloting or scaling up of a technology or innovation model
- Development of a new approach or model to improve or expand use of technology
- Establishment of technology start-up or business venture
- Community knowledge transfer activities such as:
- Technology and technical assistance projects
- Developing/implementing emerging models of innovation
- Protection and promotion of traditional community knowledge
- Open agroecology projects
Do you qualify?
SEARCA GRAINS is open to the following applicants interested in implementing on-the-ground innovation projects in Southeast Asia:
Institutions:
- Academic/research, private, government or non-government institutions, farmer groups and cooperatives
- Must have a legal entity based in Southeast Asia
- Must own or support startup/research groups with own invention, acquired technology or innovation at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3 or above (experimental proof of concept to bench scale level)
- The lead proponent must be a citizen of a Southeast Asian country
- The institution or its supported startup/research group must be committed to transferring or exploiting the innovation
Individual:
- aiming to spinout a company from academic or research institutions
- Southeast Asian country citizenship
- Student, faculty member, or researcher affiliated with academic or research institution
- Inventor or principal investigator with technology/innovation at TRL 3 or above (experimental proof of concept to bench scale level)
- The affiliated academic or research institution committed to transferring and exploiting the technology/innovation via a spin-off, licensing, and other knowledge transfer mechanism
- who want to test, validate, and prototype their experimental proof of concept
- Southeast Asian country citizenship
- Founder or co-founder with invention, technology or innovation at TRL 3 or above: from experimental proof of concept to bench scale level
- Applicant's startup venture with equity funding of less than USD 20,000
Is your project eligible?
Criteria for proposal evaluation:
- Significance of output to beneficiary and to industry need; good project rationale
- Alignment of the project with one or more of SEARCA's outcomes or impacts
- Clear scope of work, activities, and timeline
- Capability of the project team to undertake the project
- Collaborative in nature
- Project duration: 6-12 months
GRAINS Stories
MyFarmer App helps finance smallholder farmers
An agri-financing platform connects Myanmar farmers with individual and institutional investors.
Better shrimp growth with AI and IOT
The Aquanotes platform, developed by startup Aerasea with the support of SEARCA GRAINS, helps farmers automate the monitoring and management of water quality to enhance shrimp health and harvest.
GOEden: Creating an Inclusive Digital Farming
GOEden stimulates the digital market for local producers and suppliers and connects Filipino farmers to th eright suppliers.
Farm Box: Taking Farming to the Next Level
A social enterprise encourages agri-investing to uplift lives of Filipino farming families.
Pili Project: Revitalizing the Pili Industry in Bicol
An initiative that mobilizes communities and helps farming families improve their pili production.
AIRIN: Reinventing Farming Using Smart Agriculture
A team of student-agrirpreneurs develops an automated irrigation and nutrient management system to cater to the Filipino farming community
Bioplastic Shifts Agrowaste into Sustainable Solution.
Scientists use discarded shrimp shells to create bioplastic, a biodegradable and low-carbon alternative to combat plastic pollution. Agro-industrial waste is redirected from landfills towards a circular economy.
Unusually Sustainable: Bioplastics from Shrimp Shells plus Mango Waste!
SEARCA and the University of San Carlos (USC) made the Top 10 in Science in Shorts Nature Awards out of 250 global entries. Watch their 2024 video that premiered in Mainz, Germany, showcasing an innovative solution to plastic pollution.
The Empowerment of Okra Farmers through DAKOTA
The Dakota digital platform, powered by blockchain technology, provides transparent records of quality control and good agricultural practice, turning okra growers in Indonesia into major players in the export market.
ARCHIE: Agricultural Robot for Crop Health in InsEct Control
An agricultural robot revolutionizes pesticide application with AI-based, real-time monitoring technology, and remote deployment mechanism.
SICAT Agriboost Camp Seeds Startup Success
Discover how visionary entrepreneurs are empowered to turn their groundbreaking ideas into reality, shaping the future of agriculture.
Application of Weather Big Data for Developing Smart Agriculture in Thamai City, Thailand
Durian farmers in Thamai City, Thailand, enhance climate resilience with the FAHFON super app, offering precise weather forecasts for their plots. Supported by smart weather, dust, and carbon stations called 'FAHFON SENSE,' this approach equips growers with vital information for adapting to changing conditions.
Agriculture-Aquaculture Technology Business Incubator (ATBI)
Better quality and market competitiveness translate to sustainable income generation for agripreneurs. Hear firsthand from startup incubatees as they share how the Laguna State Polytechnic University and SEARCA empowered them to elevate their products such as fish, beverage, condiments, black rice, and mushroom.