SEARCA News

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) will conduct its second online Training-Workshop on National Roadmap Development as part of the national technical assistance 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 3-5 November 2021. The three-day training-workshop will be facilitated by Dr. Roehlano M. Briones, Senior Research Fellow of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) and the Lead Technical Consultant of the national road mapping exercise.The training-workshop will cover an overview of… Read more

SEARCA Headquarters, Los Baños, Philippines – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the International Foundation for Science (IFS) will recognize the efforts of the eight Advanced Grants awardees through a Virtual Awarding Ceremony that will be held on 29 October 2021 via Zoom and live on SEARCA’s Facebook page. The eight awardees were among the twenty-four young researchers from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, who participated in the Mentorship Workshop held on 15-21 June 2021 for the IFS-SEARCA Mentorship Program for Advanced Grants. The Awarding Ceremony will be open to the public and will… Read more

SEARCA kicked off its 55th-anniversary celebration on 22 October 2021 through Dish Dialogues: Creating a Sustainable and Healthy Plate via its SOLVE platform. The event also celebrated World Food Day with the theme "Our actions are our future - Better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life." Dr. Maria Cristeta N. Cuaresma, Program Head of the Education and Collective Learning Department (ECLD), opened the discussion on food and making sustainable choices for good health and protecting the environment. She also invited everyone for the next-day event “Pista ng Pagkain at Kabataang Pinoy” or “Pistang PagKaPinoy” which discussed… Read more

Ten video entries from young Southeast Asians took the spotlight as finalists for the 2021 Youth COVIDeo Contest of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in a Virtual Awarding Ceremony on 21 October 2021 via Zoom. With the theme, “Youth in Sustainable Food Consumption and Waste Management,” entries from David Agustin (Philippines) and Saw Solomon Morriz (Myanmar) garnered the top prize. Sekolah Indonesia Kota Kinabalu from Malaysia and Benjarat Soowit from Thailand were hailed as 2nd prize and 3rd prize winners, respectively. Patrick Loubert Custodio from the Philippines won the Popularity Award for… Read more

SEARCA kicks off its 55th anniversary celebration this Friday, 22 October 2021 through the conduct of Dish Dialogues: Creating a Sustainable and Healthy Plate at 10:30 AM (GMT +8:00) via its SOLVE platform. The event is also in celebration of the World Food Day with the theme "Our actions are our future- Better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life." SEARCA invited Prof. Dr. Shahrim Karim, Professor of Malaysia Heritage Food and Culture, Department of Food Service Management, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) to discuss sustainable and healthy consumption of food. Prof… Read more

In a ceremony held at the Umali Auditorium of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) presented one of the hybrids of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (gumamela) in honor of the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones on 16 October 2021. Under the “Women in Public Services Series” of the UPLB Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB) Hibiscus Breeding Program, the Hibiscus rosa-sinensis ‘Leonor Magtolis Briones’ was awarded to Sec. Briones in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the Philippine society by setting professional standards for… Read more

SEARCA’s youth leader along with three other young professionals from Japan, Thailand, and the Philippines tackled youth initiatives for food sustainability in a virtual dialogue organized by the ASEAN Youth Organization – Japan Chapter (AYOJP) on 9 October 2021 via Zoom. Mr. Sonny P. Pasiona, SEARCA’s Senior Communications Associate and Youth Lead, highlighted the role of young people in food systems transformation during the dialogue titled, “Progressing to Food Sustainability amidst and after the Pandemic.” The event was convened by AYOJP as an independent dialogue in the Asia Pacific region in support of the World Food Forum (WFF), a youth-led… Read more

On 23 September 2021, the second of the series of consultation workshops was held virtually to discuss the proposed structure and content of the third volume of the ASEAN Regional Guidelines for Promotion and Adoption of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA). It highlighted presentations by experts from the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), which co-organized these workshops and led the development of the third volume. Building from the results and outcomes of the first consultation workshop which emphasized the (1) need for CSA practices at systems-level and (2) tangible guidelines for prioritization and implementation of… Read more

Now on its final leg of scoping mission, the project team from the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the Provincial Government of Quezon (PG Quezon) will conduct a planning workshop on 19 October 2021via the Zoom platform. This  is in line of the ongoing partnership titled, The Project Development on Coconut Industry Growth Areas in the Province of Quezon, and of SEARCA’s initiative of scaling up successful agricultural and rural development (ARD) research models to other crops and locations within and outside the country. Ultimately, this consultative workshop is aimed at finalizing… Read more

Four SEARCA Alumni were recognized by the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and the UPLB Alumni Association (UPLBAA) during the 103rd Loyalty Day and Alumni Awarding Ceremony held on 10 October 2021 with the theme “Bigkisang UPLB at Alumni para sa Matagumpay na Pagbangon Mula sa Pandemya.” Dr. Weerapon Thongma, President of Maejo University, led the awardees as the recipient of the Presidential Award. Dr. Thongma pursued his PhD in Extension Education with a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) - SEARCA scholarship. Maejo University also recently became an affiliate member of the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate… Read more