SEARCA in the News

Revolutionizing the agriculture industry will make it more sustainable and resilient even after the COVID-19 pandemic, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) advises. During the recent Dagyaw 2020: Open Government Virtual Town Hall Meeting, SEARCA Director Glenn Gregorio admitted that the COVID-19 pandemic underscored the gaps in the supply chain and consumption system yet to be addressed. Agri most hit by COVID Relevant economic sectors in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, suffered from supply and demand shock after the agriculture industry recorded great losses. SEARCA reported that 31% of the combined population in… Read more

MANILA, Philippines — The farm sector, considered as the saving grace of the economy amid the pandemic, is expected to turn in a negative performance in the fourth quarter with a significant drop in palay (unhusked rice) production following the massive damage of Typhoon Ulysses. Los Baños-based Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has projected a drop in palay and corn production in the last quarter, potentially causing the only remaining productive sector of the economy to contract. Among the major economic sectors of the country, only the agriculture sector has managed to achieve… Read more

While Typhoon Ulysses has long gone and dissolved in the international waters, its effects on Philippine agriculture may extend as far as the fourth quarter, in particular an estimated loss of P34.37 billion in rice crops. According to a report released by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture, Philippine rice production may decline by 5 percent in the fourth quarter or an estimated loss of 939.17 metric tons, resulting in a high chance for the agriculture sector posting negative growth. The estimated value of rice production losses in Cagayan Valley in the fourth quarter… Read more

The country's agriculture sector's potential to grow significantly within this year has been wiped out by floods brought about by Typhoon Ulysses, an international think tank said. Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) Director Glenn B. Gregorio said that it is now unlikely for agriculture, the only subsector in the Philippine economy that registered growth throughout the pandemic, to keep its momentum until the end of the year. This, according to him, is due to Ulysses, together with other typhoons that hit the country over the last few weeks. "It should be noted that… Read more

YOUNG Filipino innovators have until November 17 to register for the Innovation Olympics 2.0, a competition challenging the next generation of agriculture, business and technology leaders to develop innovative solutions to challenges faced by urban and rural smallholder vegetable farmers. The event is a project of the East-West Seed in partnership with the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture, Sensient Colors LLC, University of the Philippines Los Baños, UPLB-Technology Transfer and Business Development Office, UPLB Startup Innovation and Business Opportunity Linkaging Labs, and APEX: The UPLB Business Network. The theme of the competition's second edition… Read more

Young Filipino innovators have until November 17 to register for the Innovation Olympics 2.0, a competition challenging the next generation of agriculture, business and technology leaders to develop innovative solutions to real-life challenges of urban and rural smallholder vegetable farmers. The theme of the competition's second edition is "Precision Agriculture for Small-Scale Vegetable Farming." Given that the agriculture sector in the Philippines, particularly its small-holder farms, have been characterized with perennial productivity woes, the Innovation Olympics aims to capitalize on the creative ideas and energies of the youth so they become active contributors of solutions that will increase agricultural productivity… Read more

Organizers of Innovation Olympics 2.0 have announced that university students joining the "agri hackathon" to develop innovative solutions for the farming sector have until Nov. 17, 2020 to submit their applications for registration. Themed "Precision Agriculture for Small-Scale Vegetable Farming," Innovation Olympics 2.0 is a way for university students to share, create and pilot new technology solutions for urban and rural smallholder vegetable farmers. Director Glenn Baticados of the University of the Philippines Los Baños Technology Transfer and Business Development Office (UPLB-TTBDO) explained that precision agriculture aims to increase the profitability of farmers while sustaining the environment through employing more… Read more

THE Philippine government-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) recently conducted a seminar that focused on calamansi waste utilization and product development opportunities for Oriental Mindoro farmer-leaders, processors and representatives from the private sector and government. Pedcris Orencio, SEARCA program head for Research and Thought Leadership, said participants including those from the Departments of Agriculture (DA), Science and Technology (DoST) and Trade and Industry (DTI) who gained a good grasp of the calamansi processing industry, opportunities and challenges. "The virtual seminar aimed to enable the participants to recommend interventions and strategies for potential calamansi… Read more

An improved native garlic variety, the Batanes white, can raise garlic production as it has the highest yield at 4.9 metric tons per hectare (MT/ha), even posting as much as 9.3 MT/ha in Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte. The Department of Agriculture (DA)-Region 1 (Ilocos Region) has crafted a revival program to raise garlic sufficiency as current supply is largely imported — more than 90 percent. Field tests have shown native garlic varieties can catch up in competitiveness with imported garlic that have a yield of 10 to 15 MT/ha such as that in China. Remarkably, the improved native garlic has shown… Read more

AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT is likely to have improved in the third quarter due to favorable indications from the rice harvest, supported by good weather and the easing of quarantine restrictions, according to the Agriculture department and industry experts. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is scheduled to release production indicators for the farm sector today, Nov. 9. Asked to comment ahead of the data release, Department of Agriculture spokesperson Noel O. Reyes said the agriculture sector's performance during the third quarter was positive. In a mobile phone interview, Mr. Reyes based his assessment on a PSA report which estimated the output of… Read more