SEARCA in the News

SEVENTEEN barangay (villages) in Rizal province have undergone a scoping activity to assess the current status, readiness and compliance of community gardens in line with the provisions of the Department of the Interior and Local Government Memorandum Circular on Halina't Magtanim ng Prutas at Gulay, also called the Hapag sa Barangay Project. The scoping activity was conducted by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in collaboration with the Rizal provincial government through the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist. Dr. Glenn Gregorio, SEARCA director, said the activity is part of the School Edible Landscaping… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) established an ASEAN farming consortium to generate carbon credit and cut greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) while raising farmers' income. SEARCA Director Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio said the consortium would incentivize Asian farmers to adopt innovative technologies to reduce methane emissions from rice farming. It will generate carbon credits in the future. Aside from solving a huge environmental problem, it will raise farmers' income by at least 50 percent. It will generate rural jobs and produce an organic-type fertilizer. "We will share the data (between Southeast Asian countries)… Read more

Southeast Asian schools, including those in the Philippines, can vie for this year's SEAMEO-Japan Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Award. They can showcase sustainability and innovation regionally, with submissions closing on August 15, 2023. Held annually since 2021, the award focuses on raising awareness and fostering sustainable practices across Southeast Asia and Japan. This year's theme is "Promoting Environmental Education Through Utilizing Renewable Energy." The award is a collaboration of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (MEXT), and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Multisectoral Regional… Read more

A CONFERENCE paper presented by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) is reinforcing its call for higher education institutions (HEIs) to strengthen link with industry needs. SEARCA director Dr. Glenn Gregorio said deputy director for programs Dr. Nur Azura Adam presented on behalf of SEARCA the conference paper titled "Reshaping Instruction, Research, and Development for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Southeast Asia." The presentation was done during the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Regional Training Center (RETRAC) International Conference in Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam on July 13 and 14, 2023… Read more

THE Philippine government-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) expressed support for the inclusion of One Health concepts in basic education curriculum across Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member countries. SEARCA director Dr. Glenn Gregorio said the center has joined One Health experts and officials of the specialist institutions of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (Seameo) in a workshop on integrating One Health concepts in Southeast Asian (SEA) countries. Together with Gregorio representing the center at the said workshop held in Bangkok, Thailand on June 22 and 23, 2023 was SEARCA… Read more

A PHILIPPINE government-hosted intergovernmental treaty organization has engaged members of the judiciary during the annual biotech outreach of the United States Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service Manila (USDA-FAS Manila) to provide members of the judiciary with "knowledge of the complexities and protocols of agri-biotech development." Glenn Gregorio, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) director, said the center was continuing its commitment to empowering members of the judiciary to create sound, unbiased, and evidence-based decisions and policy recommendations. Gregorio said SEARCA teamed up with the Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA), the Philippine Association of Law Schools… Read more

Ninety-one-year-old National Scientist Dolores Ramirez began teaching at the University of the Philippines in 1956. She explains her ethos as a professor: "The genetic component in one's aptitude for mathematics is only 12 percent. That means the gene contributes only 12 percent, and 88 percent comes from the environment. You can't blame your parents if you're not good at math. The biggest factor is your math teacher. If you know this as a math teacher, you should teach math in a way that your students will learn. How do you do that? You will probably make it simpler and be… Read more

MUÑOZ, Nueva Ecija: The Central Luzon State University (CLSU) has hosted the third-year edition of an international summer short-term program offering an intensive training opportunity for international students interested in any of this year's track offerings: freshwater aquaculture, goat production and mushroom pharming. The program is a collaborative undertaking by CLSU, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), and the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC). Dr. Glenn Gregorio, SEARCA director, said the eight-day CLSU-SEARCA-UC International Summer Short-term Program (ISSP) kicked off on July 24 and will… Read more

The non-profit organization Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) plans to create a carbon farming consortium to generate carbon credits and cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while raising rice farmers' income. SEARCA director Glenn B. Gregorio, who made the announcement during a roundtable discussion, entitled Sustainable Food and Agriculture System in Southeast Asia, organized by the non-profit and the Philippine central bank Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, says the consortium will give incentives for Asian farmers to adopt innovative technologies that will reduce emission of a very powerful GHG – methane – that comes from… Read more

An ASEAN carbon farming consortium put up by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture is expected to generate carbon credit and cut greenhouse gas emission while raising farmers' income. SEARCA director Dr. Glenn Gregorio said the consortium would give incentives for Asian farmers to adopt innovative technologies that would reduce emission of a very powerful greenhouse gas and methane that comes from rice farming. It will generate carbon credits in the future. Aside from solving a huge environmental problem, it will raise farmers' income by at least 50 percent. It will generate rural jobs… Read more