LOS BAÑOS, Philippines—A delegation of 21 Dual Agritech™ scholars and faculty facilitators from the Dagatan Family Farm School, Inc. (DFFS) visited the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on 27 August 2026 to explore regional initiatives in smart farming, agricultural modernization, and digital technologies for agriculture.
The delegation was welcomed by Dr. Rico Ancog, SEARCA Deputy Director for Administration, who encouraged the young scholars to help redefine perceptions of agriculture. Ancog emphasized that farming must evolve from being associated with traditional, grueling labor to becoming a smart, interconnected, and profitable enterprise driven by holistic systems thinking, strategy, and innovative mindsets. He pointed out the need for practical, farmer-centered technologies, ranging from soil sensors to crop health monitoring tools, to lower production costs, boost yields, and improve household incomes, particularly in the Philippines, where production costs remain higher than in neighboring countries.
Ancog also underscored SEARCA's mandate under its 12th Five-Year Development Plan, Sustainable Transformation of Agricultural Systems through Innovation in Southeast Asia (SUSTAIN Southeast Asia) and encouraged scholars to take advantage of available master's and PhD scholarships, training programs, research grants, and incubation platforms. He reminded the students that young people have the power to shape the future of agriculture today through experimentation, critical inquiry, and proactive community engagement.
"We hope that young people like you think of innovation—tools, techniques, technologies, practices that we can use so that we can reduce the production cost, increase value, and translate that into an increase in income," Ancog said.
Following the opening message and institutional briefing, Dr. Emil John Cabrera, Program Head of SEARCA's Emerging Innovation for Growth Department (EIGD), led a learning session on open innovation and agri-incubation and knowledge and technology transfer. Cabrera presented modern agritech building blocks such as drones, Internet of Things (IoT) soil sensors, precision automation, and controlled-environment systems. He also highlighted scalable solutions supported by SEARCA's Grants for Research towards Agricultural Innovative Solutions (GRAINS), including the AIRIN automated irrigation system, the ARCHIE pest-control robot, AI-driven fish-feeding systems, and microclimate and weather monitoring tools.
After the discussion, the scholars shared their views on the smart farming technologies they are most excited to explore.
The visit concluded with the scholars viewing an episode of the SEARCA Youth in Agri Talk Show focused on climate action and touring the SEARCA Hub for Agriculture and Rural Innovation for the Next Generation (SHARING) AgriMuseum.
Mr. Jeremy Feria, Program Director and Head of External Affairs for Dual Agritech™ at DFFS, expressed appreciation to SEARCA for hosting the study visit and sharing its expertise with the youth. He noted that the valuable concepts and practical techniques gained from the visit will be directly integrated into DFFS's dual-training modules to benefit future student cohorts, underscoring DFFS's commitment to a long-term partnership with the Center.
DFFS, which is recognized by the Philippine Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Training Institute (DA-ATI) as a learning site for agriculture and is the first family farm school in Asia, previously visited SEARCA in 2023 for innovation learning activities. The latest visit builds on the continuing partnership between the two institutions to nurture the next generation of agricultural innovators and leaders.