SEARCA News

Dr. Mercedita A. Sombilla, a renowned economist with decades of experience in agricultural policy and regional development, has been appointed the new Director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) effective 1 April 2025. This appointment also makes her the first woman to lead SEARCA in its nearly 60-year history. Her appointment follows a distinguished career marked by thought leadership and significant contributions to agricultural economics, public policy, and regional development. As Undersecretary of the Philippine Department of Agriculture and a long-standing policy advocate at the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), where… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA)'s Youth in Agri Talk Show is airing its third episode on 31 March 2025 at 7:00 p.m. (GMT +8:00) on the Center's Facebook page. The episode "Growing the Future: The Power of School and Home Gardens" will showcase the impact of school and home gardens and their significant role in promoting food security in communities. Philippine Department of Education Assistant Secretary for Operations Dr. Dexter Galban will be featured as guest expert. He will answer compelling questions about gardening from young students in Cambodia, the Philippines, and… Read more

The 49th SEARCA Online Learning and Virtual Engagements (SOLVE) webinar held on 17 March 2025 featured Dr. Reinald Adrian Pugoy, who discussed artificial intelligence's (AI) transformative role in education in his talk, "Adopt & Adapt: Navigating AI Integration in Schools and Universities." Dr. Pugoy is the Director of the Information and Communication Technology Development Office and an Associate Professor of the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies, both in the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU). Dr. Pugoy highlighted AI's ability to streamline tasks, enhance productivity, accelerate research, and drive innovation. He also underscored AI's role in tackling global… Read more

The Los Baños-based, Philippine government-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) is preparing for a leadership transition, which will mark the end of Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio's tenure as Center Director from 2019 to 2025. As a center of excellence under the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), SEARCA serves the 11 SEAMEO Member Countries: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. During his stewardship, SEARCA strengthened its role as a key driver of agricultural and rural development across Southeast Asia. Dr. Gregorio's vision steered… Read more

San Mateo, Isabela – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), through its Emerging Innovation for Growth Department (EIGD) in collaboration with the Municipality of San Mateo, Isabela, LEADS Agri, the Philippine Rice Research Institute Isabela, and Innovate-UK, organized a two-day learning event focused on low-carbon solutions. The event, held on 19 to 20 February 2025 at the San Mateo Municipal Session Hall, brought together over 70 participants from various sectors of rice production, including farmers, harvest and postharvest service providers, members of irrigator associations, academe representatives, and local government officials across the province… Read more

A delegation from Nagoya University (NU), Japan visited the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on 10 March 2025 to strengthen existing partnerships and explore new collaboration areas. Led by Dr. Akira Yamauchi, Director of NU Asian Satellite Campus Institute (ASCI), the delegation also included Dr. Euan McKay, Designated Associate Professor and Strategy Lead of NU International Strategy Office; and Dr. Mary Jean Bulatao, Designated Associate Professor and Director, and Ms. Christine Viray, Project Assistant, both of NUASC-Philippines. Dr. Glenn Gregorio, SEARCA Center Director, welcomed the visitors along with Dr. Nur Azura Binti Adam… Read more

Evoking a hopeful future full of life, predominantly green-colored images bagged the top awards in the recently concluded SEARCA Photo Contest 2024, which was launched in November 2024. Themed "The Future of Farming: Pathways to Carbon-Neutral Agriculture," the 18th run of the annual SEARCA Photo Contest awarded the first prize (USD 1,000) to Jayson Berto of the Philippines for his entry featuring a university student inside a hydroponics tower garden. The urban gardening practice, a sustainable farming system, is gaining traction as it responds to dwindling land and water resources. "Crop growing is cooler with the hydroponics tower garden of… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) have teamed up to hold the Food and Agribusiness Forum – Digital Transformation in Philippine Food and Agribusiness: Innovations for the Future on 14 March 2025 at the UA&P Campus in Pasig City, Philippines. The organizers have gathered prominent Philippine food and agribusiness speakers to share real-world strategies to boost farm productivity, streamline operations, and improve access to markets, financing, and government support. Distinguished Filipino economist and educator Dr. Bernardo Villegas, Co-Founder and Professor of UA&P, will deliver… Read more

Underscoring human-centric innovative solutions in the agri-food sector, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) trained 26 professionals from higher education and research institutions for the second iteration of the SEARCA Agri-Innovator Program (AIP). It was held online on 10–14 February 2025, followed by face-to-face sessions on 25–27 February at the SEARCA headquarters. The SEARCA AIP, a nonformal and short-term training program aligned with the Center's 11th Five-Year Plan, welcomed participants from 17 participating institutions across Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The program sought to challenge ideation and execution methodologies of… Read more

"Agriculture and biodiversity conservation are often framed as conflicting pursuits—as if we must sacrifice one for the other. But the real challenge is not about choosing between them. It's about finding ways to make agriculture a partner in conservation," emphasized Dr. Glenn Gregorio, Center Director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), during his keynote address at the Webinar on Challenges, Opportunities, and Innovation Strategies in Managing Protected Forests for Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainability held on 7 March 2025. The webinar was organized and hosted by the Central Mindanao University (CMU), an affiliate… Read more