SEARCA News

For its 17th year, the annual photo contest launched by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) zooms in on Regenerating agri-ecosystems, lowering "global boiling". The competition is open to Filipinos and nationals of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. The theme aims to highlight technologies and practices in agriculture that help mitigate worsening effects of climate change so much so that the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres alerted the public on 21 July 2023 saying, "we are past the era of global warming and we are now… Read more

CATANAUAN, QUEZON, Philippines—The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) organized a one-day training-workshop on organizational development for coconut farmer associations under the project, Development of the Coconut Industry Growth Areas in the Province of Quezon in Catanauan, Quezon on 26 September 2023. The event was co-organized with the Provincial Government of Quezon through the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) and the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) Region IV, with support from the Municipal Government of Catanauan through the Office of the Municipal Agriculturist (OMA). The program, tailored to the specific needs of the province's coconut… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) have jointly offered virtual learning sessions on climate-smart villages (CSVs) on 19–20 September 2023 via Zoom. The sessions were part of an eight-day blended course, "Climate-Smart Villages as Platforms for Community-Level Anticipatory Climate Adaptation to Improve Food Security and Resiliency." The first module was delivered virtually, while the remaining modules will be provided onsite through a roving workshop on 25–30 September 2023. The virtual sessions were attended by 22 participants from academic institutions, nongovernmental organizations, the private sector, and… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), in collaboration with NIRAS Asia Manila Inc. and the International Centre for Environmental Management (ICEM), held an inception workshop on 8 September 2023. The workshop is part of the technical assistance to the Philippines under the "Accelerating Climate Resilience in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and the Environment (ANRE) Project" funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The workshop is a hybrid event and was participated in by forty-seven (47) national and international experts from relevant government agencies and multisectoral institutions in agriculture, natural resources, and the environment. The… Read more

Aklan, PHILIPPINES - The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) joined the 2nd International Agri-ecotourism Congress hosted by the Aklan State University (ASU) at Paradise Garden in Boracay, Malay, Aklan, Philippines on 11-12 September 2023. With the theme "Revitalizing agro-industrial connectivity toward sustainable ecology and resilient GloCal Village," the event aimed to serve as a platform for the dissemination of research results and sharing knowledge, experiences, and culture in establishing agri-ecotourism technologies and innovations to sustain and mainstream the agri-ecotourism industry to a diverse set of audience. During the opening program, Aklan Governor Jose… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), through its Partnerships Unit (PU), and Dagatan Family Farm School, Inc. (DFFS) co-organized the activity titled Green Skills for SEARCA Youth held on 31 August 2023 in line with the celebration of this year's International Youth Day. This was a kick-off activity to relaunch the SEARCA Youth Ambassadors Platform (SAYAP), the Center's internal youth empowerment platform for young SEARCA staff. The event gathered 18 enthusiastic participants, including SEARCA's youth and once-youth staff and interns from the core programs and some administrative units, and consultant from the Directorate… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, PHILIPPINES – Key officers and staff from 17 regional centers of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) have set action points to enhance inter-center collaboration on knowledge management (KM) initiatives that emerged from the 2nd SEAMEO KM Learning and Sharing Forum held at the SEARCA Headquarters on 22–23 August 2023. The 37 forum participants include Center directors, deputy directors, and knowledge workers in communication, partnership, program, public relations, and information technology, as well as administrative officers from the various SEAMEO Centers and the SEAMEO Secretariat (SEAMES). Among the action steps identified were capacity building, mentoring, benchmarking… Read more

Kuching, Sarawak, MALAYSIA – The capacity-building initiatives on agrotourism of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) took center stage during the second day of the Sarawak Agrotourism Conference & Expo (SAtCE) held at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) on 28–30 August 2023. Dr. Nova A. Ramos, head of SEARCA's Training for Development Unit under the Education and Collective Learning Department, presented the Center's farm/agrotourism training programs, conferences, webinars, and other learning events that catered to legislators, educators, practitioners, and other stakeholders across the Southeast Asian region and beyond. She also highlighted agrotourism's… Read more

Seventeen bio-business students from the Tokyo University of Agriculture (Tokyo NODAI), Japan visited the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on 29 August 2023 for a briefing on the Center's programs and activities related to agribusiness development. They were accompanied by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nina Nocon-Shimoguchi of Tokyo NODAI, as well as Asst. Prof. Dia Noelle Velasco and Asst. Prof. Eliza Aquino, faculty members of the Department of Agribusiness Management and Entrepreneurship, College of Economics and Management, University of the Philippines Los Baños. In the briefing, the students were given a concise presentation of… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the Science Communicators Philippines, Inc. (SciCommPH) came together in a virtual event held via Zoom on 4 September 2023 to formalize their partnership to enhance public understanding of science and technology (S&T) through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The signatories to the five-year MOU are SEARCA Director Dr. Glenn Gregorio and SciCommPH Chairman Angelo Palmones, who is a DZRH producer and former Agham Party-list representative. Launched on 10 March 2023, SciCommPH is a duly registered nonstock, nonprofit organization composed of scientists, science journalists and broadcasters, and… Read more