SEARCA in the News

BANTAYAN ISLAND, CEBU – Underscoring the importance of proactive and science-based local climate planning, the Climate Change Commission (CCC) met with the local government units of Santa Fe and Bantayan in Cebu to discuss climate priorities and explore areas for enhanced technical collaboration. The engagement, held in Santa Fe Municipal Hall, aimed to capacitate LGUs in strengthening the integration of climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) into development planning processes, including the formulation and enhancement of Local Climate Change Action Plans (LCCAPs). Discussions focused on improving Climate and Disaster Risk Assessments (CDRA), aligning local development strategies with… Read more

TO strengthen Southeast Asia's tropical fruit industry, the International Tropical Fruits Network (TFNet) and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) forged a five-year partnership with the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at SEARCA's headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna. SEARCA Center Director Mercedita Sombilla and TFNet CEO Muhamed Salim bin Mohd Ali led the MOU signing, underscoring their organizations' shared commitment to strengthening the tropical fruit sector and bolstering research and training ecosystems in Southeast Asia and beyond. According to SEARCA, the agreement outlines joint initiatives in agricultural education, research, innovation… Read more

Under the guiding theme "Farm. Farmer. Future.", AGRITECHNICA ASIA and HortEx will take place from 20 to 22 May 2026 at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC). Over three days, agricultural practitioners and experts from across Asia and worldwide will meet to advance business development, technology transfer, and applied knowledge in agricultural mechanization and horticulture. The 2026 edition places a strong emphasis on capacity‑building, and practical adoption of innovations tailored to Asia's diverse production systems. Backed by strong institutional partners, the exhibitions are organized by the German Agricultural Society (DLG) in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and… Read more

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