Senior Fellows Program
SEARCA's Senior Fellows Program strengthens the Center's ability to respond to contemporary and important concerns in agriculture and rural development. It is honorific in that only internationally respected scientists, researchers, and academics shall be appointed as 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.
Dr. Antiporta, Donato B.
Former Senior Policy Adviser
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Having worked at FAO for almost 30 years, Dr. Antiporta has an extensive professional experience on agricultural policy formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of strategies for food security and poverty alleviation. He has worked with various senior level decision makers in the agriculture and rural sector across the Asia-Pacific region and other FAO member countries.
Starting as an Agricultural Economist of the FAO project ASEAN Interim Technical Secretariat in Indonesia, Dr. Antiporta rose to the rank of a senior policy adviser of FAO.
Dr. Antiporta holds a PhD in Agricultural and Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota, USA, MS in Agricultural Economics from Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India, and BS in Agriculture from the University of the Philippines Los Baños.
Dr. Capistrano, Doris
Senior Advisor
ASEAN-Swiss Partnership on Social Forestry and Climate Change (ASFCC)
In addition to her duties as advisors to ASFCC, Dr. Capistrano is also the Director of Forests and Governance of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) 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 (UPLB) 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.
Dr. Collado, Geronimo M.
Former Senior Faculty
Public Management Development Program
Development Academy of the Philippines
A specialist in finance, agribusiness, and human resource development, Dr. Collado has had extensive experience in development banking, parastatal governance, and capacity building in Indonesia, Costa Rica, and the Philippines.
He has over 30 years of experience in senior-level consulting and advisory work mostly for development projects of international organizations including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), UN-Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and World Bank among others. He also served as Regional Manager for SEARCA's Agribusiness and related projects.
A former professor at the University of the Philippines (UP) and the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) and Vice Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), Dr. Collado holds a Doctor of Business Administration from Harvard University Boston, MA in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Wisconsin, and BS in Agriculture from UPLB.
Dr. Habito, Cielito F.
Professor, Department of Economics
Ateneo de Manila University
A former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and Director General of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) of the Philippines, Dr. Habito is Adviser for Mindanao Economic Development at the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) 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 (UNEP-ROAP).
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 (UPLB).
Dr. Lizada, Ma. Concepcion C.
Professor Emeritus
Department of Food Science and Nutrition
University of the Philippines Diliman
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.
Dr. Padolina, William G.
President and Academician
National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines
Before serving as President of NAST, Dr. Padolina was Deputy Director-General for Partnerships at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and had two terms as Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), 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 (BIOTECH).
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.
Dr. Sajise, Percy E.
Honorary Research Fellow, Bioversity International
and Adjunct Professor, School of Environmental Science and Management,
University of the Philippines Los Baños
An internationally recognized ecologist and environmentalist, Dr. Sajise's vast work experience spans more than four decades across many communities, farms, and forests as well as universities and research and training institutions in Asia, the Pacific, and outside the region.
He assumed key leadership positions in many regional and international institutions. He was Regional Director of Bioversity's Office for Asia, Pacific, and Oceania (2000-2008); Director of SEARCA (1994-1999); and Regional Director for Asia, Pacific, and Oceania of the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute.
Dr. Sajise devoted most of his professional life teaching at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) where he served as Dean of the College of Human Ecology and College of Arts and Sciences. He is a member of the Advisory Group to the Secretariat of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the advisory body of the Center of Biodiversity and Indigenous Knowledge in Yunnan, China.
A member of the World Academy of Arts and Science, Dr. Sajise holds a PhD in Plant Ecology from Cornell University. He was also Research Fellow at the Environment and Policy Institute of the East-West Center and Visiting Professor at Leiden University.
Dr. Teng, Paul S.
Dean of Graduate Studies and Professional Learning National Institute of Education
Senior Fellow (Food Security), Center for Non-traditional Security Studies S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Professor, Nanyang Technological University
Specializing in epidemiology, agricultural/food systems research, science communication, and development management, Dr. Teng 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.
Dr. Teng 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. This work has led to 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. Velasco, Luis Rey I.
Professor
Institute of Entomology
University of the Philippines Los Baños
Dr. Velasco served as Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) (2005-2011). His professional career spans more than three decades of administration and management, university teaching, research and extension work, and technical service to various government agencies, mostly in the agriculture sector. He served as Dean of the UPLB College of Agriculture and Director of the National Crop Protection Center (1995-1999). He also served on the Philippine Senate Committee on Science and Technology-Food and Agriculture Panel, Philippine Carabao Center Advisory Council, and Pesticide Policy and Technical Advisory Committee.
Dr. Velasco holds a PhD in Entomology from the University of Queensland, and MS and BS in Agriculture (major in entomology) from UPLB.
