SEARCA Senior Fellows

SEARCA Senior Fellows provide gratis advice and guidance in the conceptualization of programs as well as technical inputs in project development and implementation. They also assist in establishing linkages and negotiating proposals with potential donors and partners.

The Senior Fellows Program complements the expertise that resides within the Center's professional staff pool as well as its Adjunct Fellows and Visiting Research Fellows Programs.

Senior Fellow
Affiliation
Field of Expertise
Duration of Appointment
Dr. Howarth Bouis → More info
Founding Director
Harvest Plus
Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines
Biofortification
March 2021 to
March 2023

He is a 2016 World Food Prize Laureate, having been recognized for his life's work in biofortification that has benefitted more than 50 million people in smallholder farming families in low-income countries. He pioneered the concept of biofortification in the early 1990s and founded HarvestPlus in 2003. Currently, he chairs the Board of Trustees of the Micronutrient Forum.

He earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Stanford University and a master's degree and PhD from Stanford University's Food Research Institute. In 2017, he was awarded a Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa, by the University of Greenwich.

Dr. Doris Capistrano → More info
Regional Advisor
ASEAN-Swiss Partnership on Social Forestry and Climate Change (ASFCC)
The ASEAN Secretariat, Indonesia
Agricultural Economics
March 2021 to
March 2023

In addition to her duties as advisor to ASFCC, Dr. Capistrano is also the Director of Forests and Governance of the Center for International Forestry Research and a Visiting Professor in Forest and Conservation Policy of Wageningen University, The Netherlands.

Dr. Capistrano also served as Ford Foundation's Deputy Representative for India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka and Program Officer for Rural Poverty, Resources, and Environment in Bangladesh. She was also a member of the Technical Panel of the UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) and Co-chair of the MA Working Group on Sub-global Assessments.

She also taught economics at the University of the Philippines Los Baños where she earned her MS in Agricultural Economics and BS in Business Economics. Dr. Capistrano holds a PhD in Food and Resource Economics from the University of Florida, USA.

Dr. Ratana Chuenpagdee → More info
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Resource Management and Environmental Studies
15 February 2021 to
15 February 2023

She is an expert on policy and governance of oceans and coasts, with a focus on fisheries, particularly small-scale fisheries. She earned her PhD in Resource Management and Environmental Studies at the University of British Columbia, Canada and MS in Fisheries Biology from the University of North Wales, UK and MS in Fisheries Management and Economics from Michigan State University, USA.

Dr. Rex Victor O. Cruz
Professor and Director
Environmental Forestry Programme
College of Forestry and Natural Resources
University of the Philippines Los Baños
Forestry and Natural Resource Management
March 2021 to
March 2023
Dr. Cielito F. Habito → More info
Chairman, Brain Trust: Knowledge and Options for Sustainable Development Inc., and
Professor, Department of Economics
Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines
Economics
March 2021 to
March 2023

A former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and Director General of the National Economic Development Authority of the Philippines, Dr. Habito is Adviser for Mindanao Economic Development at the Australian Agency for International Development and a member of the Council of Advisers of the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement, the National Advisory Council of World Wildlife Fund Philippines, and the Sub-regional Environmental Policy Dialogue of the United Nations Environment Programme Regional Office for Asia-Pacific.

A Columnist (No Free Lunch) in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the most widely circulated broadsheet in the Philippines, Dr. Habito holds a PhD and MA in Economics from Harvard University Cambridge, Master of Economics from the University of New England, and BS in Agriculture from the University of the Philippines Los Baños.

Dr. Poonpipope Kasemsap
Associate Professor
Department of Horticulture
Faculty of Agriculture
Kasetsart University, Thailand
Plant Physiology
March 2021 to
March 2023
Dr. Ma. Concepcion C. Lizada → More info
Professor Emeritus in Food Science
Department of Food Science and Nutrition
College of Home Economics
University of the Philippines Diliman
Postharvest Physiology
March 2021 to
March 2023

Dr. Lizada is recognized for her research work on postharvest physiology and safety of horticultural produce. She was part of the team that conceptualized the ASEAN-Australia Project on Quality Assurance Systems for ASEAN Fruits, Fresh and Minimally Processed, which had food safety as a key component.

She was also the first Acting Director of the Philippine Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Product Standards where she served as National Codex Contact Point and a member of the Executive Committee of the Codex Aliamentarius Commission that developed international food standards, guidelines, and codes of practices to protect the health of the consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade.

Dr. Lizada earned her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of California Davis and her MS in Chemistry at the University of Texas, USA.

Dr. Ben S. Malayang III
Professor Emeritus
Silliman University
Dumaguete City, Philippines
Environmental Policy and Governance
March 2021 to
March 2023
Dr. Eero A.J. Nissila → More info
Managing Director and Chair
Newfields Consulting Ltd., Finland
Plant Breeding and Genetics
March 2021 to
March 2023

He has extensive experience in leading plant breeding and seed production programs of various crops (i.e., rice, wheat, barley, oats, rye, pea and fava bean, Brassica oilseeds, camelina, potato, and sweet potato) with a local, regional and global perspective. He is also an expert on business strategies, business models and product portfolio development in seed and breeding industry, and on directing R&D- and product production schemes for meeting the market needs. He earned his Doctor of Agriculture and Forestry (Plant Breeding) from the University of Helsinki, Finland.

Dr. Keijiro Otsuka → More info
Professor, Kobe University, and
Chief Senior Researcher, Institute of Developing Economies
Kobe, Japan
Agricultural and Industrial Development
March 2021 to
March 2023

His expertise are agricultural development and industrial development in Asia and Africa.

Prior to joining the Kobe University, he was a Professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies from 2001 to 2016. He was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of International Rice Research Institute from 2004 to 2007 and President of the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) from 2009 to 2012. He earned his PhD in Economics from the University of Chicago, USA.

Dr. William G. Padolina → More info
Academician
National Academy of Science and Technology
Philippines
Research Management and Science Policy
March 2021 to
March 2023

Before serving as President of NAST, Dr. Padolina was Deputy Director-General for Partnerships at the International Rice Research Institute and had two terms as Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology, Philippines. His expertise and interests are in the areas of research management, science policy, technology transfer, secondary plant metabolism, biotechnology and intellectual property rights.

He started as a Research Assistant at UPLB and eventually became a professor of Chemistry at the university. He also served as Director of the UPLB-National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology.

Currently the Independent Chairman of the Board of Euro-Med Laboratories Philippines, Dr. Padolina obtained his PhD in Botany and Phytochemistry from the University of Texas, USA.

Dr. Eufemio T. Rasco, Jr.
Academician
National Academy of Science and Technology
Philippines
Plant Breeding
March 2021 to
March 2023
Dr. Emerlinda R. Roman
Professor Emeritus
University of the Philippines Diliman
Agricultural Business Management
March 2021 to
March 2023
Dr. Gil C. Saguiguit, Jr. → More info
Former SEARCA Director
Economics, Agricultural and Rural Development
March 2021 to
March 2023

He was SEARCA Director from 2009 to 2018. He also served as SEARCA Deputy Director for Administration (2002-2009) and SEARCA Research and Development Manager (1998-2002). His expertise and interests are in the areas of agricultural and rural development program implementation, fund generation and financial management, agricultural extension, participatory and community-based approaches, and multidisciplinary research. He holds a doctorate degree in Rural Economics from the Universite de Montpellier I, France. and MS in Agricultural Economics from the University of the Philippines in Los Baños.

Dr. Segfredo R. Serrano
Former Undersecretary for Policy and Planning
Department of Agriculture, Philippines
Agricultural Economics
March 2021 to
March 2023
Dr. Paul S. Teng → More info
Dean and Managing Director
National Institute of Education International (NIEI)
Nanyang Technological University
Singapore
Agricultural Systems Research
March 2021 to
March 2023

He specializes in epidemiology, agricultural/food systems research, science communication, and development management and has served in many national and international committees. He is also a regular consultant for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Bank, and other international and regional organizations.

He has extensively researched the role of plant diseases in causing epidemics and crop losses in several continents, working cooperatively with a network of national program scientists, and published over 250 journal papers, eight books, and numerous conference papers, and recognition by peer organizations. His pioneering work on using system analysis and computer modelling techniques to quantify and predict biological phenomena and conduct risk assessments is still having impact today in the US and Asian rice growing countries.

Currently the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), Dr. Teng was the first Asian to obtain a PhD in Agricultural Microbiology/Systems Research from the Lincoln College, University of Canterbury, New Zealand.

Dr. Tin Htut
Retired Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Agriculture
Livestock and Irrigation (MOALI)
Nay Pyi Taw, Union of Myanmar
Agronomy
March 2021 to
March 2023
Dr. Victor Bruce J. Tolentino
Independent Member
Monetary Board Member
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
Economics
March 2021 to
March 2023
Dr. Shue-Jen Wang → More info
Deputy Vice President for Academic Affairs
National Taiwan University
Plant Physiology
March 2021 to
March 2023

She is an expert in plant physiology, plant biology, abiotic stress tolerance, plant molecular biology, plant tissue culture, and crop science. She earned her PhD from National Taiwan University.

Dr. Reiner Wassmann
Former IRRI Senior Scientist and Climate Change Expert/Focal Person
Climate and Environmental Science
March 2021 to
March 2023