SEARCA in the News

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines—The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and Kasetsart University (KU) in Thailand have formalized a new joint initiative to strengthen advanced education in agricultural and resource economics across Southeast Asia. The two institutions have signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to launch the KU–SEARCA Joint Graduate Scholarship Program through the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Faculty of Economics at KU. The agreement underscores their shared commitment to cultivating highly trained professionals who can contribute to sustainable agricultural and rural development and evidence-based policy advancement in the region. Representing the two… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines—The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) launched the Meet the Diplomats Series (MDS) on 24 February 2026, spotlighting Thailand-Philippines cooperation in agriculture and rural development. The inaugural session featured Her Excellency Makawadee Sumitmor, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to the Republic of the Philippines, as the featured guest. Diplomats, government officials, scientists, academics, and development practitioners joined the event held at SEARCA headquarters. SEARCA Center Director Dr. Mercedita Sombilla said the MDS is aligned with SEARCA's 12th Five-Year Development Plan: Sustainable Transformation of Agricultural Systems through Innovation in Southeast Asia… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna — The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has staged the inaugural session of its new knowledge sharing platform, the Meet the Diplomat Series (MDS), at its headquarters here on Monday. The event, held at the SEARCA Umali Auditorium, marked a concrete step toward aligning foreign policy priorities with regional agricultural and rural development goals under SEARCA's 12th Five Year Development Plan: Sustainable Transformation of Agricultural Systems Through Innovation in Southeast Asia, also called SUSTAIN Southeast Asia. With the launch of MDS featuring the Royal Thai Embassy in Manila as its first… Read more

The case for attaining economies of scale at the farming level was the central theme of the first session of the panel presentations. Dean Arlene Inocencio of the School of Economics at De La Salle University argued that scale in food and agribusiness is both structural and necessary, as it drives efficiency, investment capacity, and bargaining power. She pointed out that the primary constraint to improving productivity in Philippine agriculture is farm fragmentation. This fragmentation hinders mechanization and forces farmers to remain "price takers" in buyer-dominated markets. Dr. Inocencio clarified that scale is more about organization than sheer land size… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna — The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) has approved the five-year roadmap for Agriculture Higher Education in the Philippines, a landmark framework developed by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in partnership with Visayas State University (VSU). According to SEARCA, headed by Center Director Mercedita Sombilla, the roadmap marks a significant milestone in the country's efforts to elevate agricultural education and boost the sector's contribution to national development. It was endorsed during the CHEd Committee en banc meeting on Feb. 2, 2026. SEARCA said the roadmap presents a forward-looking vision… Read more

Climate resilience must take root in farms and communities — not just in infrastructure — according to the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture during a climate engagement held Feb. 20, 2026, at the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) Command Center. The center underscored the need for food systems transformation as a cornerstone of strengthening community resilience against climate change impacts. Dr. Mercy Sombilla of SEARCA said climate action should go beyond mitigation strategies and directly support agricultural communities, which are among the most vulnerable to climate risks. She emphasized that climate-smart… Read more

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… Read more

Until his passing in 2020, Dr. Rolando Dy was one of the most influential agribusiness economists in the Philippines, advising both government officials and top executives on agricultural policy and strategy. In the 1980s, while working at the World Bank, he was part of an expert team sent to Thailand and Malaysia to help craft long-term agricultural development plans. It was due in part to his team's guidance that these two countries became global leaders in high-value food crops. Ironically, when he returned to the Philippines and established the think tank Center for Food and Agri Business, much of his… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) said that the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has approved its five-year roadmap for agriculture higher education in the Philippines. In a statement on Thursday, the organization said the roadmap, developed in partnership with the Visayas State University and engagement of selected higher education institutions (HEIs) and private-sector organizations, was endorsed during the CHED Committee En Banc meeting earlier this month. SEARCA said the roadmap is expected to elevate agricultural education. It seeks to strengthen the sector's contribution to national development as it lays out a forward-looking… Read more

BANGKOK — The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has officially launched the Southeast Asia Agricultural Outlook Series (SEA Agri Outlook Series), a flagship initiative designed to provide data-driven, policy-relevant insights into the region's agricultural transformation. The Inception Workshop for the series was held on 26–27 January 2026, bringing together country experts from 11 Southeast Asian nations to establish a unified framework for comprehensive agricultural analysis across the region. A Comprehensive Analytical Framework Dr. Mercedita Sombilla, SEARCA Center Director, welcomed participants and outlined the ambitious scope of the publication. The SEA Agri Outlook Series… Read more