THE Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) organized on January 26–27 the Inception Workshop of the Southeast Asia Agricultural Outlook Series (SEA Agri Outlook Series).
SEARCA Center Director Mercedita Sombilla said the workshop aimed to provide a venue for SEARCA and country experts from 11 Southeast Asian countries "to discuss and agree on the country studies' overall focus, methods of analysis, data sources, and report contents."
During the event, Sombilla presented an overview of the SEA Agri Outlook Series, a flagship publication that provides policy-relevant insights through a mixed-methods analytical framework integrating quantitative data, stakeholder engagement, and modeling tools.
Bernice Anne De Torres, Program Coordinator of SEARCA's Research and Thought Leadership Department (RTLD), also discussed the objectives of the workshop and its intended outputs.
Sombilla said the SEA Agri Outlook Series aims to offer a comprehensive, data-driven assessment of agricultural performance and transformation across 11 Southeast Asian countries. Building on earlier regional studies, she explained that the series emphasizes systemic agricultural transformation to strengthen food security, reduce poverty, and advance sustainable development. Outputs will include country and regional reports and an open-access database.
At the workshop, 11 country experts presented overviews of the current state of agriculture in their respective countries, including sector performance, food and nutrition security, and major policies and programs implemented to support agricultural development. They also discussed their proposed country studies, including methods of analysis, data needs and sources, and report content, to ensure alignment with the series' objectives.
Angga Pradesha, Senior Scientist at the Foresight and Policy Modeling Unit of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), presented an overview of the Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model and IFPRI's Agricultural Transformation Index (ATI). He also facilitated a workshop on CGE and ATI data needs and led a discussion on each country's identified scenarios for their CGE model analyses.
To help enhance the SEA Agri Outlook Series, Meeta Punjabi Mehta, Senior Food Systems Officer at the Food and Agriculture Organization Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (FAO-RAP), expressed the organization's willingness to share its Regional Foresight Report, which contains critical data on the future direction of food systems. Mehta highlighted FAO-RAP's ongoing regional horizon-scanning, which provides countries with scenario-based analyses to identify significant emerging challenges over the next four to five years.
Rochella Lapitan, RTLD Program Specialist, presented SEARCA's Southeast Asian Agricultural Statistics Database (SAASD), a comprehensive and sustainable regional database that supports analysis of agricultural transformation in Southeast Asia. Lapitan explained that SAASD is an open-access dashboard featuring interactive visualizations such as trends, charts, and maps, alongside downloadable datasets and analytical reports.
To assess the current state of agricultural transformation in the 11 Southeast Asian countries, the experts also engaged in group discussions on their countries' status, key drivers, challenges, and ongoing interventions related to agricultural transformation. They also reviewed policies, investments, and institutional reforms already in place while identifying policies needed to accelerate and sustain transformation.
Sombilla said the workshop generated relevant inputs for SEARCA's regional cross-country analysis under the series. Noting that while substantial progress has been made and that further work lies ahead, she underscored the importance of this collaborative endeavor toward publishing the SEA Agri Outlook Series, which is expected to be highly relevant to SEARCA and participating governments.
The SEA Agri Outlook Series is firmly anchored in SEARCA's 12th Five-Year Development Plan: Sustainable Transformation of Agricultural Systems through Innovation in Southeast Asia (SUSTAIN Southeast Asia).
"It aims to accelerate the sustainable transformation of agriculture and rural communities in Southeast Asia through innovation, partnerships, and evidence-based policies," Sombilla added.