SEARCA in the News

LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA, Philippines — Seven new studies published in the December 2025 issue of the Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development (AJAD)—a publication of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA)—shed light on emerging trends that are reshaping agriculture across Asia. The papers tackle long-standing but rapidly evolving themes such as digitalization, gender inclusion, climate change adaptation, and data systems that are increasingly influencing agricultural policy and practice in the region. The issue underscores how farmers, cooperatives, researchers, and policymakers are responding to structural changes in agriculture and rural communities, and offers evidence-based… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines—A new issue of the Agriculture and Development Notes (ADN) series published by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) reveals that while the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) has substantially expanded regional trade, its benefits for agriculture are uneven across Southeast Asian countries. Titled "Trade Creation or Diversion? Assessing the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement's Uneven Impact on ASEAN Agricultural Trade," the ADN is co-authored by Mr. Paul Neilmer Feliciano, a program manager and economist at the Ateneo Policy Center, and Mr. Manuel Leonard Albis, an assistant professor at the University of… Read more

Smallholder farmers in the Mekong region have long relied on middlemen, faced volatile prices, and lacked timely technical advice. The Mekong Farm app is changing this by connecting farmers with buyers, value chain actors, peers, and agroecology experts, turning smartphones into tools for market access, learning, and better decision-making. Greenovator leads the enhancement of the Mekong Farm app, funded by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) Grants for Research towards Agricultural Innovative Solutions (GRAINS). Piloted in Can Tho, Vietnam, and later expanded to Battambang, Cambodia, the project concluded in August 2025. Headed by… Read more

CONTRARY to conventional thinking, climate and biodiversity are not separate worlds but are two sides of the same coin. Events in one affect the other. For example, similar harmful activities like overfishing and pollution drive both biodiversity loss and climate change. To come up with integrated solutions, a new generation of professionals who can bridge the biodiversity-climate nexus must arise. Dindo Campilan, International Union for Conservation of Nature regional director for Asia and hub director for Oceania, emphasized these points in a seminar hosted by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on Nov… Read more

The Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency (PNVSCA), led by Executive Director Donald James D. Gawe, CESO III, and officials of the University of the Philippines Los Baños–Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (UPLB-SEARCA) recently met online to explore potential areas of collaboration on school-based and community-oriented garden initiatives anchored on volunteerism. During the meeting, Dr. Girlie T. Tatlonghari, Program Head for Research and Thought Leadership of SEARCA, presented the School + Home Gardens cum Biodiversity Enhancement and Enterprise (SHGBEE) initiative. Complementary to the Department of Education's Gulayan sa Paaralan, SHGBEE promotes edible landscaping as… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna — The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) started to train educators in sustainable urban farming in a program aimed at empowering the educators to implement hands-on and environmentally sound urban farming systems within schools and communities. Under an initiative titled "In-Country Training on Urban Farming for Sustainable Cultivation to Support Biodiversity Conservation, Education, and Food Security in the Philippines," Department of Education (DepEd) educators are equipped with practical skills and ecological knowledge for greener communities. The training is also co-organized by… Read more

The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) has recognized the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) as one of the top contributors to its Socioeconomic Research Portal for the Philippines (SERP-P) database in 2025. PIDS is the government's primary socioeconomic policy think tank, and the SERP-P database is an online resource containing studies and materials from PIDS and other academic and research institutions. Bernice Anne De Torres of SEARCA's Research and Thought Leadership Department, and Stoix Nebin Pascua of SEARCA's Education and Collective Learning Department-Training for Development Unit received the recognition on behalf of… Read more

UNDERSCORING the vital role of the science-policy-practice interface (SPPI) in achieving resilient and sustainable food systems, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) is advocating for a bold, systematic shift in Southeast Asia's agrifood sector. SEARCA Director Mercedita Sombilla said the center is campaigning for the SPPI as a bridge connecting research, governance and community action.Emphasizing the importance of stronger multi-stakeholder colla­boration and dynamic knowledge exchange, she introduced the triple nexus approach — linking food, environment and nutrition — as a framework for cross-sectoral coordination that leads to healthier diets and resilient ecosystems. Sombilla… Read more

THE Laguna, Philippines-based Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has opened applications for the 2026 edition of the Executive Program for Leaders in Asian Agriculture and Development (LAAD): Focus on Southeast Asia. The program, which incorporates both online and in-person (Singapore) sessions, is designed to strengthen leadership and innovation capacities among professionals operating within the rapidly changing agrifood landscape of the region. Tailored for leaders working in government agencies, private agrifood enterprises, academia, civil society, and development organizations, LAAD's curriculum offers comprehensive modules on contemporary agrifood system issues as well as strategic leadership, innovation… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna -- Underscoring that agricultural productivity is the missing foundation in the Philippines' long-delayed structural transformation, a former National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) described the country's economy as stable, 'but not yet prosperous.' Former Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua of NEDA, now known as the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DepDev), pointed out that true national prosperity can only be achieved by launching an agricultural transformation similar to those undertaken by other successful Asian economies. "True national prosperity can only be achieved by launching an agricultural transformation similar to those undertaken by other successful Asian economies," Chua… Read more