SEARCA in the News

CEBU, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has thrown its support for the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act as it sought collaborators in the fight against illegal tobacco trade that brings P25 billion yearly in foregone revenue for government. According to DA Undersecretary Deogracias Victor B. Savellano, the Senate Bill 2432 should be immediately approved to help eliminate illegal trade and smuggling of tobacco and other agricultural produce. Illegal tobacco trade even has serious impact against the health of minors, he said. "It may worsen the country's problem on smuggling. Illicit tobacco trade reduces the effectiveness of public health policies… Read more

The 2023 Young Agricultural Ambassadors composed of 12 Taiwanese with expertise in farming, forestry, fisheries, and animal husbandry visited the Philippines on November 13 to 18 as part of the New Southbound Policy Exchange Program. In an interview with The Manila Times, deputy director-general Hsiao Kuangwei of Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Public Diplomacy Coordination Council, shared, "The participants hail from diverse backgrounds. Their areas of expertise include organic farming, aquaculture, fruit, vegetable and cultivation, as well as agricultural economics." "For them, it's really a thorough trip in just seven days. They visited government agencies to learn about the… Read more

THE Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) conducted a training workshop on carbon farming that provided an in-depth discussion on the importance of the available platforms for monitoring, reporting and verification in carbon emissions. This is the second installment of the training workshop series on Carbon Wise Rice-based Farming held on November 21-22 at the SEARCA Headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna, in collaboration with Newfields Consulting Ltd. (NFC) and Macon Ltd. The training was attended by 28 participants from the provincial and municipal agricultural offices of Laguna, faculty and researchers from the University of… Read more

UNIVERSITY and government officials of an eastern Indian state on the Bay of Bengal visited the Philippine government-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on November 16, 2023. The delegates from Odisha came to discuss possible collaborations on research, innovations, scholarships and publications. They were Prem Chaudhary, Government of Odisha Department of Agriculture and Food Production (ODAFP) director; Prof. Pravat Kumar Roul, vice chancellor, and Dr. Tushar Ranjan Mohanty, agrometeorologist, both of the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT); and Dr. Mukund Variar, Odisha-International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) state coordinator. ODAFP is the… Read more

A THAI university executive has assumed the chairmanship of the governing board of the Los Baños-based Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). Associate Professor Dr. Sutkhet Nakasathien, vice president for research and creation at Kasetsart University in Thailand, was elected to serve in this position from 2023 to 2025. As chairman of the board, Sutkhet will lead SEARCA's highest policymaking body which also defines the general policy guidelines of the center. Playing a pivotal role in shaping the strategic direction of SEARCA, the board also conducts an annual review and evaluation of the center's… Read more

TO share good practices for enticing youth into agriculture, 12 Taiwan Youth Agricultural Ambassadors (TYAA) paid a courtesy visit to the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on November 17, 2023 as part of the TYAA New Southbound Policy Exchange Program. The Taiwanese group was accompanied by Deputy Director General Hsiao Kuang-wei of the Public Diplomacy Coordination Council-Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and Deputy Director General Hung Hsiao-chun of the Department of International Affairs-Taiwan Ministry of Agriculture (MoA). Providing Taiwanese tertiary students specializing in agriculture, aquaculture, animal husbandry and forestry with an opportunity… Read more

WITH the COVID-19 pandemic bringing innovative ways of inviting people into the learning environment, universities have become engines of social inclusion that can transform agriculture, a reputable Filipino scientist and academician said. Dr. Glenn Gregorio, director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), was a plenary speaker at the International Society for Southeast Asian Agricultural Sciences (ISSAAS) International Scientific Congress and General Meeting 2023, accentuating universities' roles and potentials in transforming agricultural education. Anchored on the theme, "Integrated Management of Southeast Asian Agricultural Landscapes," the congress focused on food security, soil and water… Read more

SOME 23 homeschoolers from the ACTS Center visited the Los Baños, Laguna-based Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on November 15, 2023 to learn about agri-robotics. During their visit, Richard Angelo Natata, program associate of SEARCA's Emerging Innovation for Growth Department (EIGD), presented a Lincoln Learning Solutions video to stir the students' excitement. With the video delving into robotics in medicine, industry and agriculture, Natata further enticed the students by showing images of robots and encouraging them to guess their specific purposes. Assoc. Prof. Joselito Florendo, SEARCA deputy director for administration, also emphasized the… Read more

THE Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has set the deadline for submission of entries for the 17th SEARCA Photo Contest on Nov. 30, 2023. SEARCA director Glenn Gregorio said photographers from Southeast Asia are urged to upload their entries to the contest via the SEARCA website before the submission deadline. Anchored on the theme "Regenerating Agri-Ecosystems, Lowering Global Boiling," the photo contest this year draws inspiration from the words of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who declared in July the advent of "global boiling" and emphasized the urgency of the climate crisis. Gregorio… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) calls on photographers in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, to participate in the 17th SEARCA photo contest, which closes on November 30. Themed "Regenerating Agri-Ecosystems, Lowering Global Boiling," the competition drew inspiration from the impactful words of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who declared in July the advent of "global boiling," emphasizing the urgency of the climate crisis. SEARCA Director Dr. Glenn Gregorio said "global boiling" serves as a metaphorical depiction of the escalating climate crisis, which resonates with SEARCA's priority focus on climate change and its… Read more