SEARCA in the News

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna — Pinagtitibay ng mga bansa sa Southeast Asia ang kanilang mga polisiya at sistema ng pagpopondo upang maisulong ang mas napapanatiling agrikultura at food systems. Ito ang sentro ng regional workshop on policy coherence and financing for agrifood systems transformation na isinagawa noong Agosto 24 hanggang 26, 2026 sa pangunguna ng Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (FAO-RAP), at University of the Philippines Los Baños College of Human Ecology (UPLB-CHE). Dumalo ang mga kinatawan mula Cambodia… Read more

Philippine stocks closed below the 6,000 mark for the first time in this window as investors weighed slower growth, Middle East conflict and a proposed sin tax hike that analysts say could push inflation past the central bank's ceiling. A separate cluster of coverage tracked the economic cost of flooding and a potentially severe El Niño. The Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) — the benchmark that tracks the 30 largest companies listed on the country's main bourse — closed at 5,916.94 on Wednesday, down 90.84 points or 1.51 percent, its first close below the 6,000 level in this window. The… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines — The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) celebrated the milestones of 31 graduate scholars during its virtual Testimonial Ceremony for Academic Year (AY) 2025–2026 on 25 August 2026. The event honored the scholars’ academic rigor and underscored their crucial role in spearheading sustainable agriculture and rural development throughout Southeast Asia. Addressing the graduates, SEARCA Center Director Dr. Mercedita Sombilla urged the new alumni to extend their research beyond academia and translate evidence into actionable solutions that uplift farming and fishing communities, inform policy, and fortify regional food systems. She urged… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines — The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (FAO-RAP), and the University of the Philippines Los Baños College of Human Ecology (UPLB-CHE) convened a regional workshop on policy coherence and financing for agrifood systems transformation on 24–26 August 2026. Participants from Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, the Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam assessed policies and financing landscapes supporting sustainable agrifood systems. The workshop sought to advance coherent policies and strategic investments that address food insecurity and… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna — Cash prizes and regional recognition await photographers who can capture how food reaches the table, as the 20th SEARCA Photo Contest enters its final weeks. The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) said the top winner will receive $1,000, second place $800, third place $500 and the SEARCA Center Director’s Choice $500. Winners will also receive certificates. The deadline for submission of entries is on Sept. 30 at 11:59 p.m. (GMT+8). It is open to all Southeast Asian nationals, including Filipinos. Entries must be submitted through photocontest.searca.org/2026. This year’s theme… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna — A new policy brief from the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) highlights how school feeding programs in Southeast Asia can serve two development goals at once: improving children's nutrition; and providing more dependable markets for smallholder farmers. The brief, titled "Integrating Smallholder Agriculture into School Feeding Programs: Addressing the Agri-Health Disconnect," examines how public spending on school meals can be connected to local agricultural development. It is based on cross-border research undertaken in Malaysia and Indonesia from April to May 2026 by Dr. Bima Indra, a medical doctor and… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines — The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture is inviting Filipinos to submit entries to its 20th SEARCA Photo Contest, themed “Food for All, Food for the Future,” before the Sept. 30, 2026, deadline. The competition opened July 16 and is open to Southeast Asian nationals, except SEARCA staff and their immediate family members. This year’s contest asks photographers to look at food long before it reaches the plate. It seeks images of the people and systems that grow, handle, protect, move, sell, prepare and share food, showing what keeps those systems… Read more

Southeast Asia’s food systems are being reshaped by climate risks, new technology and changing supply chains, creating a need to document how communities are adapting from farms and fishing grounds to markets and cities.The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) is tapping photographers across the region for that visual record through the 20th SEARCA Photo Contest, themed “Food for All, Food for the Future.” Why it matters The initiative looks beyond traditional images of farms and agricultural landscapes to capture the people, infrastructure and systems that determine whether food remains safe, nutritious and accessible… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna — Twenty-six graduate scholars from six Southeast Asian countries have undergone training aimed to bring academic research beyond journal publication and into policy and broader use. The scholars — from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam — participated in the customized training, “Beyond the Journal Article: Scientific Writing for Policy and Wider Scholarly Engagement,” held recently at the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). Organized under SEARCA’s Graduate-on-Time (GOT) program in partnership with the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) College of Development Communication (CDC), the course provided… Read more

The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), through its Faculty of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (FFANR), successfully co-organized the ASEAN Plant-Based Foods: Research and Policy Forum on 3-4 September 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand. The event was held in collaboration with the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Food Innopolis, and the Office of the National Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO), Thailand. The two-day forum brought together more than 140 researchers, industry leaders, policymakers, and food-system stakeholders from across ASEAN and beyond to exchange knowledge, explore emerging opportunities, and strengthen regional collaboration on plant-based foods. Held… Read more