The P90-million AgriMuseum project of ASEAN is targeted to rise by 2019, as its proponent seeks partners to build it as a way to inspire education interests in agriculture and in solving food-security threats.
The first of its kind to rise in the ASEAN region, AgriMuseum proponent Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) seeks private and public agency partners.
"SEARCA is actively inviting partners in the project, including the public and private sector, particularly food or agri-related companies that could contribute to it as part of their corporate social responsibility efforts," SEARCA Director Gil C. Saguiguit Jr. said in a statement.
It has, so far, received a P5-million grant from the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR).
Amid limitations in the quality and number of skilled workers in agriculture, SEARCA sees the AgriMuseum as an "innovative approach to promote awareness and draw attention to agriculture".
Saguiguit said it will play a role in instilling interest among the youth in helping solve problems on food security, poverty alleviation and in the development of economies in the region.
To be hosted by the Philippines in Los Baños, Laguna, "the museum will put on center stage the history, science-based knowledge and innovations in agriculture; cross-cultural and cross-ecosystem comparisons; current issues and challenges; and envisioned futures of agricultural and food systems in Southeast Asia," Saguiguit said.
It will be adjacent to the SEARCA headquarters within the University of the Philippines Los Baños.
The museum is expected to benefit young people, especially students, as well as development practitioners, policy- and decision-makers and researchers who require a deeper appreciation of agriculture in national development.
SEARCA presented the proposal to establish the Southeast Asian AgriMuseum and Learning Center at the biennial meeting of education ministers of 11 countries in Jakarta, Indonesia, which concluded on July 27.
