SEARCA in the News

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna — Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) today, May 6, at the SEARCA headquarters to strengthen collaboration in education, training, and research. MMSU President Dr. Virgilio Julius P. Manzano, Jr. and SEARCA Director Dr. Mercedita Sombilla led the signing of the agreement, which will be valid for five years and may be renewed. The ceremony was witnessed by Assoc. Prof. Joselito Florendo, SEARCA Deputy Director for Administration; Assoc. Prof. Peter James Icalia-Gann, Chief of MMSU's Center for Cellular… Read more

Known as the “Tuna Capital of the Philippines," General Santos City has earned itself a new moniker as an emerging farm tourism hub in Mindanao. This, after its successful hosting of the recent 8th Philippine International Farm Tourism Conference, the country's largest gathering of practitioners and authorities on farm tourism. Organized by the International School of Sustainable Tourism (ISST) with the support of the City Government of General Santos, the three-day conference provided avenues for collaboration among farm owners, farmers, and participants and emphasized the positive socio-economic impact of farm tourism on the countryside. Farm tourism “At the heart of… Read more

THE "Endline Study on Nutrition and Socio-economic Components and the Monitoring and Evaluation of School Gardens" will build upon the insights gained from the Gulayan sa Paaralan Program (GPP), the School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP), and the School-Plus-Home Gardens Project. The study was conducted by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in the nine pilot schools of the School-plus-Home Gardens cum Biodiversity Enhancement Enterprise (SHGBEE) Project in Busuanga Island in Palawan province. SEARCA said that the study also evaluates schoolchildren's nutritional conditions and dietary habits by comparing their nutritional status and dietary patterns before… Read more

SOUTHEAST Asian educators discussed embedding climate change adaptation and mitigation into the basic education curricula at the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Council (SEAMEC) Flagship Program 3 held on March 25. The event, hosted by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), aimed to produce learning resource packages across the region. Maria Cristeta Cuaresma, SEARCA's senior program head of the education and collective learning department, showed the online courses that the center developed and which are offered by the University of the Philippines Open University. Cuaresma introduced the School-plus-Home Gardens Program, which has been… Read more

THE midterm review of the Postgraduate Micro-Credentials for Food Security and Climate Change (PMC-FSCC) project started on Wednesday. The PMC-FSCC project is aimed at generating inputs to develop modular, flexible, and stackable micro-credential programs. Funded by the European Commission's Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education program, the review was set for April 23 to 24, 2025, at the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna. SEARCA will host the Midterm Review under Work Package 1: Project Management and Coordination led by the Thailand-based Kasetsart University (KU) as the project's coordinating… Read more

Ang Unibersidad ng Guelph (U of G), isang nangungunang institusyong pananaliksik sa Canada, ay nakipag-ugnayan kamakailan sa Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) sa Pilipinas. Ang pagbisita na ito ay naglalayong tuklasin ang mga oportunidad para sa pagtutulungan na nakatuon sa pagsulong ng masustenableng agrikultura sa Timog Silangang Asya. Si Helen Hambly mula sa Capacity Development and Extension Office ng U of G, kasama ang mag-aaral ng master's na si Francis Jabile, ay nagpakita ng mga potensyal na paraan ng pagpopondo sa mga kinatawan ng SEARCA sa Laguna. Ang mga pondo na ito ay… Read more

A professor and a student of the University of Guelph (U of G) in Canada recently visited the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in the Philippines to explore potential areas of collaboration. U of G is a public research university in Guelph, Ontario. In their visit to SEARCA in Laguna, Helen Hambly of U of G's Capacity Development and Extension Office and Francis Jabile, a master's student, presented several funding opportunities for Southeast Asian countries. The available funding grants must have nature-based solutions and socially inclusive approaches. "U of G actively supports research… Read more

The following link will take you to INQUIRER.net:The Philippines must eat its vegetableshttps://business.inquirer.net/519067/the-philippines-must-eat-its-vegetables… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna — The first woman to lead the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in its nearly 60-year history has decades of experience in agricultural policy and regional development. The appointment of Mercedita Sombilla as the new SEARCA Center Director, effective April 1, 2025, follows a distinguished career marked by thought leadership and significant contributions to agricultural economics, public policy and regional development. In her acceptance speech during the SEARCA Leadership Turnover Ceremony held on Mar. 25, 2025, Sombilla expressed her sincere appreciation for the opportunity to steer the Center and build… Read more

Rice is not just a crop—it is the backbone of economies, cultures, and food security across Asia. In Japan, a recent rice shortage has brought this reality into sharp focus. Prices have spiked, supermarket shelves are being emptied, and public concern is rising. The causes—climate-induced weather disruptions, a surge in tourism-driven demand, and speculative stockpiling. In response to the crisis, the Japanese government has begun auctioning off rice from national reserves. The situation resonates deeply with neighboring ASEAN countries, where rice plays a similarly vital role. It was in this context that policymakers, government officials, and representatives from Micro, Small… Read more