SEARCA News

LAGUNA, Philippines.  Recognizing the need for a sustainable program to foster strong partnership among various stakeholders and develop policies that will sustain school and community gardens’ initiatives (also known as School-Plus-Home Garden Program (S+HGP), the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) will organize a weeklong study visit and benchmarking activity for the key stakeholders of Busuanga Island, Palawan from 27 to 31 March 2023. The study visit and benchmarking activity aims to provide technical assistance to key partners from the Department of Education - Division of Palawan (DepEd Palawan), and LGUs from Busuanga and… Read more

Diversifying learners' skillsets increasingly becomes the status quo as we maneuver in a fast-paced environment. With that, the need to provide motivation, mentorship, and guidance were tackled by Dr. Glenn Gregorio, director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), at the Fireside Chat with Alumni titled "Transcending to greater heights toward scientific progress in a VUCA society" on 20 March 2023 held via Zoom. In her opening message, Dr. Vachel Gay Paller, director, University of the Philippines Los Baños-Institute of Plant Breeding (UPLB-IPB), emphasized that IBS has engaged alumni as part of its… Read more

The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Irrigation (MOALI) of Myanmar recently launched its national pulses roadmap on14 March 2023 at the Thingaha Hotel in Nay Pyi Taw. The Roadmap for Scaling Up Myanmar Pulses Value Chain (2021–25) was developed under the recently completed International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)-funded project, “Agricultural Transformation and Market Integration in the ASEAN Region: Responding to Food Security and Inclusiveness Concerns” (ATMI-ASEAN). The project was co-implemented by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). His Excellency U Min Naung, MOALI union… Read more

Mr. Dhruv Patel, chief executive officer and founder of UK-based Nisai Group of Companies visited the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on 1 March 2023. He was received by Dr. Nur Azura Adam, SEARCA deputy director for programs; Ms. Corinta Guerta, technical advisor to the director; Dr. Maria Cristeta Cuaresma, senior program head, Education and Collective Learning Department (ECLD); Dr. Nova Ramos, head, ECLD-Training for Development Unit (T4DU); Mr. Jaymark Warren Dia, head, Management Information Systems Unit (MISU); Ms. Sharon Malaiba, head, Partnerships Unit (PU); and ECLD-T4DU and PU staff. During the meeting… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) welcomed Japanese students from Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan, and Kobe University, Hyogo, Japan, to tour the SEARCA Hub for Agriculture and Rural Innovation for the Next Generation (SHARING) facilities. Seven Nagasaki University students visited SEARCA on 1 March 2023 accompanied by Dr. Yoko Ida, Economics professor at Nagasaki University, and Asst. Prof. Juan Paulino Trespalacio, Jr. of the University of the Philippines Los Baños -Department of Agribusiness Management and Entrepreneurship(UPLB-DAME). The activity was part of their Global Social Responsibility (GSR) Short-Term Study Program, a partnership between Nagasaki… Read more

SEARCA, in partnership with the Regional SEARCA Alumni Association (RSAA), organized the Scholars' Conference 2023 on "Advancing Agricultural Research for Improved Food Security." Twenty-eight scholars presented their research across six parallel sessions from March 14-15, 2023, via the SOLVE Platform. The two-day conference is the Center’s way to support their academic achievements and recognize their capacity to produce quality research that has a great impact on agriculture and rural development. Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, SEARCA Director, and Prof. Dr. Ir. Asdi Agustar of Andalas University, Indonesia, and RSAA President, gave the opening messages. Dr. Gregorio welcomed all the attendees and… Read more

Prof. Dr. Renato G. Reyes, the Vice President for Academic Affairs of the Central Luzon State University (CLSU), delivered his Professorial Chair Lecture on Recent advances in the domestication and mykopharming of wild edible mushrooms in the Philippines for the bio-functional food industry on 6 March 2023 at the R and E Amphitheater of CLSU. Prof. Dr. Renato G. Reyes, known as the man of science in mushroom farming in the Philippines, continuously developed innovative technologies for mushrooms to be sustainable and relevant. He highlighted in his presentation the conceptualization of the zero rice waste technology, which encourages the farmers to use… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), led by Sharon Malaiba, head, Partnerships Unit, visited Balete Family Farm School on 14 March 2023. Ms. Malaiba was joined by Leah Lyn Domingo, Specialist, public relations specialist, Partnerships Unit and Lichelle Dara Carlos, specialist, Emerging Innovation for Growth Department. The SEARCA delegation was greeted by Ms. Ma. Karen de Chavez, director and Ms. Fides Maranan, principal, Balete Family Farm School (BFFS).  Located in Balete, Batangas, BFFS is the only all-female family farm school in Asia that offers junior high school programs.  The SEARCA delegation toured the… Read more

The project team of SEARCA’s School-Plus-Home Gardens Project (S+HGP) paid a courtesy visit to Dir. Nenneth Alama, director of the Department of Education's (DepEd) Bureau of Learner Support Services at DepEd Central Office on 28 February 2023.  During the meeting, Ms. Anna Gale Vallez, program specialist of  Research and Thought Leadership Department (RTLD), presented the current programs and activities of SEARCA’s S+HGP in the Philippines. Dubbed as Participatory Action Research on School and Community-Based Food and Nutrition Program for Literacy, Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development Project in 2016, the S+HGP was a participatory action research project of SEARCA, the University… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), through its Research and Thought Leadership Department (RTLD), conducted the Back-to-Back Training Workshops on Roadmap Development and Marketing Strategies on 27 February to 3 March 2023 at the SEARCA headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna. The five-day training workshops are part of the project titled, Development of the Coconut Industry Roadmap and Capacitating Stakeholders of Quezon Province. The project is a collaboration among SEARCA, the provincial government of Quezon (PG Quezon), and the Philippine Coconut Authority Region IV (PCA). The training workshops aimed to capacitate selected representatives from… Read more