SEARCA News

A former Director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) was proclaimed a National Scientist of the Philippines. President Rodrigo Duterte has conferred Dr. Emil Q. Javier the Order of National Scientist through Proclamation 781 released on 8 August 2019. Dr. Javier is the second SEARCA Director to be conferred the rank of National Scientist. The first was SEARCA's founding Director, the late Dr. Dioscoro L. Umali. The Order of National Scientist is considered the highest national recognition conferred upon Filipinos for distinguished individual or collaborative achievement in the physical sciences and technology… Read more

BATTAMBANG PROVINCE, Cambodia – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the General Directorate of Agriculture (GDA) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) 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 22-23 July 2019 here. The first activity was the roundtable discussion (RTD) on Policy Recommendations of Value Chain Analysis of Maize in Cambodia held on 22 July 2019 at President Hotel. The discussions focused on the… Read more

SEARCA, in collaboration with the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), has successfully concluded the 2019 UC-MSFSCC Summer School and Training of Trainers (ToT). Forty-four (44) students from 15 universities under the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) and from partner universities under the Master of Science in Food Security and Climate Change (MSFSCC) project successfully completed the Summer School. This year's offering with theme "Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems in Vulnerable Areas" was held in the Philippines last 15 – 31 July 2019 and was jointly organized by UPLB, the University… Read more

PETALING JAYA, Malaysia – Mr. Ricardo A. Menorca, Unit Head for General Services of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) received the SEAMEO Service Award at recognition rites during the 50th SEAMEO Council Conference held here on 22-25 July 2019. The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) is an inter-government treaty body founded in 1965 to promote regional cooperation in education, science, and culture in Southeast Asia. SEARCA is one of the oldest among SEAMEO's 26 specialist institutions. The SEAMEO Service Award is given biennially to recognize exemplary staff members of each… Read more

Seventeen new SEARCA scholars are participating in a Basic English Course which will run until 30 July 2019. The scholars come from Cambodia (1), Indonesia (5), Lao PDR (1), Myanmar (1), Philippines (2), Timor Leste (4), and Vietnam (3). The course covers four modules: Writing and Grammar, Conversations for Social and Academic Situations including Oral Reports/Presentations, Pronunciation Improvement, and Reading and Vocabulary Enrichment. During the opening program last 17 July, Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, SEARCA Director, expressed his warm welcome to the participants and lecturers of the course. He also pointed out in his message, "that this is only a… Read more

Sixty-six faculty members from eight member universities of the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) converged at the SEARCA Headquarters for the First UC Faculty Forum on 23 – 24 July 2019. The Forum, co-hosted by SEARCA and the University of the Philippines Los Baños, provided a venue for faculty members from the UC to come together, exchange research ideas and develop strategic partnerships for collaborations. With the theme on Responding to the Challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, there were 4 plenary speakers and 43 papers presented in parallel sessions under 4… Read more

BAYBAY CITY, Leyte – Conveying together the partners who have successfully implemented the project Piloting and Up-scaling Effective Models of Inclusive and Sustainable Agriculture (ISARD), SEARCA spearheaded a three-day workshop titled, Case Studies Presentation cum Writeshop of the Gains, Challenges and Opportunities in Piloting Effective Models of ISARD on 16-18 July 2019 in Visayas State University, Baybay City, Leyte. The activity aimed at validating and finalizing the case studies and drafting the terminal report of the project. It was also a venue to discuss and document success stories of the two pilot sites in Victoria, Oriental Mindoro and Inopacan, Leyte… Read more

Dr. Arsenio M. Balisacan and Dr. Gil C. Saguiguit, Jr., both former Directors of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) were awarded Outstanding Alumni of the College of Economics and Management (CEM) of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) during its Centennial Anniversary Celebration held on 19 July 2019. Dr. Balisacan, who is currently the Chairman of the Philippine Competition Commission, was keynote speaker of the event. Dr. Balisacan and Dr. Saguiguit were among the 100 awardees recognized by CEM-UPLB for their significant contributions to their respective fields of study and… Read more

BANGKOK, Thailand – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) was one of the selected partner organizations to participate in the recently concluded 2nd International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Mekong Knowledge and Learning Fair (MKLF) here on 10–12 July 2019 at the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers. The 2019 MKLF, with the theme, "Promoting Partnerships: Smallholder Producers with Private Agribusiness and Financial Institutions," aimed to (1) learn from the shared experiences of Thailand in developing agribusiness, which benefit the smallholder farmers; (2) identify approaches, technologies, and solutions from the shared tested practices… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna, Philippines – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), together with the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS SEA), organized a roving workshop on 9-13 July 2019 to demonstrate how local-level outscaling of climate-resilient agricultural practices can be undertaken under different agro-ecosystems and conditions in Guinayangan, Quezon Province. Titled Establishing Climate-Smart Villages (CSVs) in the ASEAN Region to Improve Food Security and Resiliency in Local Communities, the workshop gathered 12 participants from the ASEAN Climate Resilience Network (ASEAN-CRN)… Read more