SEARCA News

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – After years of collaboration on several capacity-building initiatives for teachers and school garden coordinators in Cambodia, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the Center of Excellence on Sustainable Agricultural Intensification and Nutrition (CE SAIN) officially inaugurated its agreement for the project titled "Participatory Action Research on Integrating the School-plus-Home Gardens cum Biodiversity Enhancement and Enterprise for the Improvement of Agricultural Technology Parks (ATPs) and Mini-ATPs in Cambodia (SHGBEE Cambodia)" that was held via Zoom on 16 May 2024. During the ceremonial signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)… Read more

Can Tho, Vietnam—The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), through the Rice Straw Biogas Hub (RSBH) project team, convened on 15 May 2024 with biogas experts for the potential international upscaling of a biodigester machine widely implemented in Vietnam. The seven-member SEARCA delegation visited Can Tho University to learn more about the Sustainable Biogas Production from Waste Straw (SubProM) biodigester model and discuss its potential replication and use in the Philippines. Dr. Nguyen Van Cong, dean of the College of Environment and Natural Resources (CENRes) of Can Tho University, welcomed the delegates and expressed… Read more

PASIG CITY, Philippines – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) formalized their mutual understanding to partner in areas of common interest, such as education, capacity building, and research, in a ceremonial signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) held on 27 May 2024 at UA&P in Ortigas. The signatories to the five-year MOU are SEARCA Center Director Dr. Glenn Gregorio and Dr. Winston Conrad Padojinog, UA&P president, with Assoc. Prof. Joselito Florendo, SEARCA deputy director for administration, and Dr. Marya Svetlana Camacho, UA&P vice… Read more

Assistant Vice President for Global Relations Dr. Balakrishnan Prithiviraj of Dalhousie University visited the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on 22 May 2024 to explore potential areas of collaboration. He was accompanied by the University of the Philippines Los Baños Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension Dr. Nathaniel Bantayan. Dalhousie University is Nova Scotia, Canada's leading research-intensive university. With 13 faculties, it combines exceptional student experience, high-impact research, and a deep sense of social responsibility. It welcomes 21,000 students from Canada and more than 115 countries around the world. During the visit, Dr… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), in partnership with East-West Seed Philippines, launched the Innovation Fair, which showcased various agricultural products. It was participated by agripreneurs from different regions of the Philippines during the concluding session of Young Agripreneurs Building Opportunities, Nurturing Growth Bootcamp (YABONG) Bootcamp on 9 May 2024 at SEARCA Headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna. The Innovation Fair was part of YABONG's Graduation Day in which the top five business improvement plans were awarded a PHP 50,000 boost to kickstart their farm enhancements. Alongside the pitch competition, 10 agripreneurs were set… Read more

SERDANG, Malaysia—The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), through its Partnerships Unit (PU), together with Pusat Asasi Sains Universiti Putra Malaysia (ASPutra), organized a Malaysia edition of the Sowing Seeds: Cultivating Youth's Future in Agriculture, a career orientation program for senior high school and pre-university students on 10 May 2024. The program is under the Center's banner youth initiative, Young Forces for Agricultural Innovation (#Y4AGRI). ASPutra, otherwise known as the Centre for Foundation Studies in Science of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), is the country's only institution offering a pre-degree program on basic studies in… Read more

Five young agricultural business owners were granted 50 thousand pesos each as seed money to improve their vegetable and commodity farm businesses on 9 May 2024 at the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) headquarters, Los Banos, Laguna. The grants were given under the banner of the Young Agripreneurs Building Opportunities, Nurturing Growth (YABONG) Bootcamp. The grantees— Ms. Kristine Mae Baluzo, Mr. Mark Lee Babaran, Mr. Christian Paolo Magsino, Ms. Rochelle Lafrades, and Mr. Robert Diala, were the top picks from 16 participants after a closed-door presentation of their business improvement plans (BIPs) to… Read more

One hundred seventy-five senior high school students from the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Calamba, Philippines, accompanied by 10 faculty members, participated in the first run of the Sowing Seeds: Cultivating Youth's Future in Agriculture, a career orientation organized by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) through its Partnerships Unit (PU) as part of the Center's Young Forces for Agricultural Innovation (#Y4AGRI) program on 2 May 2024. Sowing Seeds aims to step up efforts in promoting agriculture not only to Filipinos but also to other Southeast Asian youth. It also seeks to… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) hosted a workshop on Harmonizing University Policies in Postgraduate Micro-credentials on 6–7 May 2024 at its office in Los Banos, Laguna. The workshop is part of the activities of the Postgraduate Micro-credentials in Food Security and Climate Change (PMC FSCC) project, which is funded by the European Commission ERASMUS+ Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) program. A total of 21 delegates came from various universities in Southeast Asia, including Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB), Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), and Universitas Brawijaya (UB) located in Indonesia; Maejo University (MJU)… Read more