SEARCA News

Thirty-four (34) SEARCA scholars from eight (8) SEAMEO member countries completed their degrees during this Fiscal Year 2018-2019. These scholars were recognized in a Testimonial Program held on 20 June 2019 at the SEARCA Headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna Philippines. Two other grantees of the University Consortium also attended the Testimonial, which was also witnessed by family and friends of the graduates as well as all SEARCA staff.  Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, SEARCA Director, enjoined the graduates to be at the forefront of development. He also challenged them to step up and step out. Dr. Gregorio emphasized, "It means not… Read more

Dr. Cecilia N. Gascon, President of Bulacan State University (BulSU) and a SEARCA alumna, visited SEARCA on 20 June 2019 along with Dr. Remedios Azarcon, Director, BulSU Office of Faculty and Staff Development. They met with Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, SEARCA Director, and Dr. Maria Cristeta N. Cuaresma, SEARCA Program Head for Graduate Education and Institutional Development (GEID), to discuss the possibility for BulSU and SEARCA to collaborate on a joint scholarship to build up BulSU's Environmental Science Program toward instituting a center for climate change.  BulSU has five campuses, the main campus being in Malolos, Bulacan. It has 14… Read more

BUTUAN CITY – Step up and step out! Be at the forefront of development! This was the rousing message of Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, Director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), to the graduates of Caraga State University (CSU) at the CSU commencement exercises. The graduation rites were held on 30 May 2019 with the theme "Breaking Barriers for Relevant Global Engagement."  Having hailed from the mountains of Bukidnon where he was born and studied through high school, Dr. Gregorio related how he stepped up and stepped out into college at the… Read more

ORIENTAL MINDORO, Philippines – SEARCA's project on Upgrading the Calamansi Value Chain towards Improving the Calamansi Industry in Oriental Mindoro, funded by the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research, identified possible areas for the establishment of demonstration farms to improve the existing production management for increased yield and off-season fruiting on 23-24 May 2019.  The project team selected three demo-farms from each of the municipalities of Victoria, Naujan, and Pola, where the best practices in calamansi production will be showcased. These practices include the use of proven technologies and practices in irrigation, integrated pest management, correct fertilizer application, canopy management… Read more

HANOI, Vietnam – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (IPSARD) organized back-to-back national-level events under the 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) on 10 May 2019 at IPSARD Office.  The first activity was the policy roundtable (PRT) on Pig Sector in the New Context: Some Policy Implications for Small Pig Households. The discussions focused on the rapid value chain study on pig being… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines – The team of the Market Study Component of the project Upgrading the Calamansi Value Chain towards Improving the Calamansi Industry of Oriental Mindoro conducted an initial consumer preference survey on the calamansi concentrate, a product of Oriental Mindoro, in the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) campus, in a company canteen in Carmelray Industrial Park, and in a public resort in Los Baños, Laguna on 7-12 May 2019.  The survey gathered information about the consumer preference and acceptability of the calamansi concentrate. The calamansi concentrate used in the survey was provided by three, namely, the Matulatula… Read more

MAKATI CITY, Philippines – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), in partnership with the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA), organized the 2nd National Project Steering Committee (NPSC) Meeting of the Philippine component of the 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) on 26 April 2019 at the Dusit Thani Manila hotel, here.  The meeting was conducted to update the NPSC members and the ATMI-ASEAN project implementers on the status of the national-level policy study on Value… Read more

Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio has been appointed as new Director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), an inter-government treaty organization hosted by the Philippine government on the campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), for a three-year term and he assumed office on 1 May 2019. Dr. Gregorio is the eleventh to hold the top SEARCA post since its establishment in November 1966 by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO). Dr. Gregorio is also an Academician at the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) of the… Read more

ORIENTAL MINDORO, Philippines - A baseline study for the project Upgrading the Calamansi Value Chain towards Improving the Calamansi Industry of Oriental Mindoro was conducted by the project team composed of staff from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and partners from Mindoro State College of Agriculture and Technology (MinSCAT) on 22-26 April 2019. Farmer-members of the Victoria Kalamansi Farmers Federation (VKFF), traders, and processors in the municipalities of Victoria, Naujan, and San Teodoro, Oriental Mindoro were interviewed.  Of the eight groups of processors interviewed, six are led by females, who are either the general managers or the… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has successfully trained learners on video editing and online media production during the third face-to-face (F2F) session of the Information and Knowledge Management (IKM) Mentorship Program: Communicating Agriculture and Fisheries Research for Inclusive and Sustainable Development (CAFRISD), on 24-26 April 2019, at the SEARCA Residence Hotel Annex.  The IKM Mentorship Program is a capacity-building project funded by the Philippine Department of Agriculture–Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR). It aims to facilitate improved agricultural and fisheries research reporting and knowledge management. It employs a blended… Read more