SEARCA in the News

WITH the University of the Philippines Los Baños College of Development Communication (UPLB-CDC) as training coordinator, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has organized online training and workshop as part of the customized training for its scholars and grantees for Academic Year 2021-2022. Led by Director Glenn Gregorio, SEARCA said the training scheduled from Jan. 10 to 25, 2022 aims to build the capacity of future agriculture leaders and professionals and enhance 21st-century skills. Dr. Maria Cristeta Cuaresma, senior program head for Education and Collective Learning Department (ECLD) at SEARCA, welcomed the scholars… Read more

“Mainstreaming Gender Equality towards an Inclusive and Sustainable Post-COVID 19 Regional Recovery” will be tackled by a virtual forum on January 21, 2022 that is jointly organized by the Agricultural Transformation and Market Integration in the ASEAN Region: Responding to Food Security and Inclusiveness Concerns (ATMI-ASEAN) project and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Philippines Gender Network (IPGN). The IFAD-funded ATMI-ASEAN project is co-implemented by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Philippine government-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). The project covers the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Gender… Read more

A call for robust policies and laws that will advance biotechnology research and development (R&D), technology development, and commercialization was made during a recent “Biotechnology for Green Recovery” webinar. Focused on agriculture, bioeconomy, and scientific infrastructure, the webinar incited critical discussions toward the creation of a policy environment that will further promote the development of bio-based industries,  a news release said. Dr. Segfredo R. Serrano, a former Department of Agriculture (DA) undersecretary for Policy and Planning, said having a resilient food system to combat the impacts of climate change and other natural and man-made disasters remains a challenge amid population… Read more

To achieve a resilient and progressive food system, experts in agriculture biotechnology are calling for stronger policy support that will also further promote the development of bio-based industries. The experts' call was expressed in a recently held webinar series during the celebration of the 17th National Biotechnology Week led by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) with the Department of Agriculture (DA)-Biotechnology Program Office. Dr. Segfredo Serrano, former DA undersecretary for policy and planning, noted that from a policy standpoint, having a resilient food system remains a challenge amid population growth and declining… Read more

A call for robust policies and laws that will advance biotechnology research and development (R&D), technology development, and commercialization was made during the “Biotechnology for Green Recovery” webinar jointly organized by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the Department of Agriculture Biotechnology Program Office (DA-BPO). The webinar held during the 17th National Biotechnology Week led by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) was also in partnership with the Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines (BCP), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and the House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture and Food. Focused on… Read more

SIX scientific papers in the Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development (AJAD) December 2021 issue have recommended various policy interventions that support rural communities vulnerable to climate change impacts, threatened ecosystems, food insecurity and malnutrition. AJAD is an international refereed journal published by Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) that publishes articles resulting from empirical, policy-oriented or institutional development studies, as well as articles of perspectives on agriculture and development, political economy of rural development and trade issues. In their paper "Rural Adaptation to Climate Change: New Findings and Existing Knowledge," Dr. Jikun Huang… Read more

GRADUATE students of three member-universities of the Southeast Asian University Consortiumn for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) awarded for their best research studies presented during the 7th UC Graduate Forum (UCGF) held on December 2 to 3 which was attended by 53 participants. Among the 38 research studies presented by Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy students, the best presentation was awarded to graduate students of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), National Taiwan University (NTU) and Thailand's Maejo University (MjU). Emmanuel Flores from UPLB's Department of Agribusiness Management and Entrepreneurship, College of Economics… Read more

The Automated Irrigation and Nutrient Management (Airin) system of the Nueva Vizcaya State University (NVSU) students, and the Project Angat of Team Alipugpug Tech Solutions of the University of Mindanao students bagged the top prize in the Innovation Olympics 2.0 (IO 2.0), a nationwide agri-hackathon for young Filipinos, a news release said. The competition provided an avenue and opportunity for the students to develop and showcase innovative solutions that can help smallholder vegetable farmers. With the theme, “Precision agriculture for small-scale vegetable farming,” IO 2.0 focused on finding new solutions that can help increase the profitability of smallholder farmers through… Read more

Filipinos who have exemplary work and have contributed to the advancement of biotechnology in the Philippines were once again recognized with the Filipino Faces of Biotechnology Awards by the Department of Agriculture Biotechnology Program Office (DA-BPO). The ceremonies for the fifth and sixth Faces of Biotechnology awards were held in person at a hotel in Manila on December 2. In his video message, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar pointed out that the DA continues to employ realistic approaches in communicating the beneficial applications and impacts of biotechnology on food security, food safety, and agricultural resiliency and sustainability. Dar pointed out… Read more

Improved information management and market systems, as well as involving farmers are essential to protecting the environment and crafting innovative and equitable financial instruments tailored to farming communities. These are the main messages from a regional forum jointly convened by the Philippine government-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca), Commission on Sustainable Agriculture Intensification (CoSAI), and International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Asia, a news release said. Titled, “Paying for Nature and Society: Dialogue on Innovative Financial Mechanisms to Promote Equity and Sustainability in Agriculture-Asia,” the online event was second in a… Read more