From left: Mr. Cesar Jose Da Cruz, NDRS Director; Dr. Phonevilay Sinavong, NAFRI Deputy Director; Ms. Bui Viet Anh, ISPAE Head of Consulting; Dr. Mercedita Sombilla, SEARCA Center Director; Dr. Rico Ancog, SEARCA Deputy Director for Administration; Dr. Ngu Wah Win, CESD Director; Mr. Anton Rizki Sulaiman, CIPS Chief Executive Officer
LOS BAÑOS, Philippines— Representatives of five agricultural policy research institutions signed the CAPRI Membership Agreement on 28 April 2026, formally launching the Consortium for Agricultural Policy Research Initiatives (CAPRI) as a regional platform for collaborative, evidence-based agricultural policy research.
The signing took place on the second day of CAPRI's onboarding workshop, convened by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on 27–28 April 2026. Anchored on SEARCA's 12th Five-Year Development Plan: Sustainable Transformation of Agricultural Systems through Innovation in Southeast Asia (SUSTAIN Southeast Asia), the workshop brought together leading agricultural policy research institutions from 11 Southeast Asian countries, along with representatives from the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and international development partners.
ASEAN's participation underscored CAPRI's strategic importance in supporting regional agricultural policy research cooperation. With Southeast Asia facing interconnected challenges in food security, climate resilience, trade, rural development, and agrifood systems transformation, ASEAN provides an important policy platform for aligning national research priorities with regional development agendas. Through CAPRI, research institutions will be better positioned to generate comparative evidence, inform ASEAN-level policy discussions, and contribute to more coordinated and responsive agricultural policies across the region.
Clockwise from top left: Representatives of the first five founding CAPRI member institutions —CIPS, Indonesia; NAFRI, Lao PDR; NDRS, Timor-Leste; CESD, Myanmar; and ISPAE, Vietnam—hold copies of the signed CAPRI Membership Agreement with SEARCA Center Director Dr. Mercedita Sombilla and Deputy Director for Administration Dr. Rico Ancog during the ceremonial signing.
The founding signatories were Mr. Anton Rizki Sulaiman, Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS), representing Indonesia; Dr. Phonevilay Sinavong, Deputy Director of the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI), representing Lao PDR; Dr. Ngu Wah Win, Director of the Center for Economic and Social Development (CESD), representing Myanmar; Mr. Cesar Jose Da Cruz, Director of the National Directorate of Research and Statistics (NDRS), representing Timor-Leste; and Ms. Bui Viet Anh, Head of Consulting for the Center for Agricultural Policy at the Institute of Strategy and Policy for Agriculture and Environment (ISPAE), representing Vietnam.
Other participating institutions expected to complete their membership confirmation include the Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS) of Brunei Darussalam; the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) of Singapore; the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) of Malaysia; the Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI) of Cambodia; the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) of Thailand; and the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) of the Philippines.
SEARCA Center Director Dr. Mercedita Sombilla (center) with representatives of CAPRI’s founding member institutions and delegates from prospective member institutions.
With the signing of the agreement, CAPRI has moved from concept to formal collaboration, establishing a stronger foundation for sustained regional cooperation in agricultural policy research. The consortium will support thematic working groups, cross-country comparative studies, joint publications, and high-level policy dialogues to strengthen the research-policy interface across Southeast Asia.
CAPRI is envisioned to complement ASEAN's broader efforts to strengthen regional collaboration in agriculture and food systems by providing a platform for evidence generation, policy analysis, and knowledge exchange among national research institutions. By linking country-level research capacities with regional policy priorities, the consortium can help translate research findings into actionable recommendations for ASEAN Member States and development partners.
Through CAPRI, SEARCA and its partner institutions seek to advance more coherent, inclusive, and evidence-based agricultural policies that support regional priorities in food security, climate resilience, sustainable development, and agrifood systems transformation.