LOS BAÑOS, Philippines—Delegates to the 3rd International Symposium of Forest Green Transformation and Digital Transformation (GX/DX) in Asia visited the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on 29 October 2026 to gain insights into the Center's institutional mandates, regional initiatives, and sustainable innovations. The symposium was hosted by the University of the Philippines Los Baños College of Forestry and Natural Resources (UPLB CFNR).
The international delegation was briefed on SEARCA's strategic direction under its 12th Five-Year Development Plan: Sustainable Transformation of Agricultural Systems through Innovation in Southeast Asia (SUSTAIN Southeast Asia). The plan targets four outcomes (4Ps): Pocket (sustained increases in farmers' income), Plate (sustained improvement of food security and nutrition), Place (sustained resilience of agricultural systems against climate change), and People (sustained empowerment of farmers, institutions, and stakeholders).
The visit also highlighted flagship initiatives of SEARCA's core departments. Dr. Maria Cristeta Cuaresma, then Senior Program Head of the Education and Collective Learning Department (ECLD), presented the Center's human resource capacity-building efforts, including graduate scholarships, institutional development assistance, academic enrichment training, and executive learning programs. She also highlighted the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC), which supports joint research, credit-earning summer schools, and cross-border mobility for emerging leaders.
Focusing on evidence-based solutions and regional policy development, Ms. Anna Gale Vallez, Program Specialist of the Research and Thought Leadership Department (RTLD), discussed SEARCA's key initiatives supporting climate-resilient landscapes and data-informed governance. These included the Land Use, Land Use Change, and Forestry (LULUCF) project, which covers 11 ASEAN Member States and assesses greenhouse gas dynamics and carbon sequestration, and the ASEAN Partnership for Sustainable Aquaculture (AquASEAN), which covers seven countries. Vallez also highlighted the Consortium for Agricultural Policy Research Initiatives (CAPRI), a regional platform for evidence-based agricultural policy research and innovation, and the Southeast Asian Agricultural Statistics Database (SAASD), which aims to consolidate, harmonize, and visualize agricultural, socioeconomic, and environmental data to support regional research and policy analysis.
Meanwhile, Mr. Eman Noel Canada, Program Specialist with the Emerging Innovation for Growth Department (EIGD), presented SEARCA's open innovation and agricultural technology scaling initiatives, particularly the Grants for Research towards Agricultural Innovative Solutions (GRAINS). Implemented across eight Southeast Asian nations, GRAINS supports scalable agricultural technologies, including AI-powered platforms, automated irrigation systems such as AIRIN, agricultural robotics such as ARCHIE, smart aquaculture solutions, and biotechnical innovations.
SEARCA also served as an official symposium sponsor and mounted an exhibit at the UPLB CFNR Administration Building on 26–28 October to showcase the Center's institutional materials and publications on forestry and natural resource management.