SEARCA News

The Valentine’s Season usually celebrates romantic love, friendship and admiration. But for the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), it is a month to showcase staff’s growing appreciation for edible landscaping and greening initiatives. Love is in the air The SEARCA Greening Project is an initiative that promotes “local food for the local good” among its internal and external stakeholders. “It is a brainchild of the Office of the Director that aims to inspire the staff, scholars and the community to grow our own food while consciously choosing healthful produce over processed food,” said… Read more

Recognizing the need to upskill faculty members and researchers of Philippine higher education institutions (HEIs) in developing well-planned research designs and methods to generate evidence effectively and efficiently, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), in partnership with the Philippine Commission on Higher Education Institution (CHED), is conducting an Online Training Course on Research Designs and Methods for HEIs (Research4HEIs) in the Philippines.  The learning event will start on 14 February and will run until 11 March 2022, via the SEARCA Online Learning and Virtual Engagement (SOLVE) platform. With 26 participants from 23 HEIs… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), in partnership with the Office of the Undersecretary for Livestock of the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA), will conduct an online inception workshop cum policy roundtable discussion on 16 February 2022, to kick off the national technical assistance (TA) component in the Philippines of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)-funded Project Agricultural Transformation and Market Integration in the ASEAN Region: Responding to Food Security and Inclusiveness Concerns (ATMI-ASEAN). The TA is intended for the development of a national roadmap of the processed pork industry in the… Read more

Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines—The online Strategic Communication Planning Workshop: Enhancing Communication Skills for Higher Education Institutions in the Philippines (StratCom4HEIs) of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) commenced last 1 February 2022 via the SEARCA Online Learning and Virtual Engagements (SOLVE) platform. Dr. Edmund G. Centeno, Associate Professor at the Department of Educational Communication, College of Development Communication (CDC), University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), and concurrently Director of the UPLB Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, serves as the training-workshop’s Technical Coordinator and Lead Faculty. He is joined by… Read more

With the goal of boosting the capacity of teachers and local government offices of the target schools for the Agricultural Technology Parks (ATPs) and mini-ATPs in Cambodia, the e-training titled, Trainers’ Training for Integrating the School-plus-Home Gardens cum Biodiversity Enhancement Enterprise (SHGBEE) in ATPs and Mini-ATPs in Cambodia conducted its 6th session on 26 January, via the Zoom platform. This is an ongoing online training program jointly organized and implemented by 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), in partnership with… Read more

The Trainers’ Training for Integrating the School-plus-Home Gardens cum Biodiversity Enhancement Enterprise (SHGBEE) in ATPs and Mini-ATPs in Cambodia held its Session 5 on 19 January 2022, via the platform Zoom. This is an ongoing collaborative training program organized by 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), in partnership with the Kansas State University (KSU) and the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB). Professor Bryan V. Apacionado, Associate Professor from the Institute of Crop Science, UPLB led the session with… Read more

Over 250 amateur and professional youth out of 376 photographers across Southeast Asia participated in the recently concluded photo contest of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). There are a total of 1,513 entries from the photos submitted in 11 countries. Among the winners of the 2021 edition, five youngsters emerged victorious in capturing scenes of the contest theme, “One Health is Wealth: Healthy Agriculture and Sustainable Food Systems amidst COVID-19.” Aung Myat Thu (Myanmar) and Emely J. Escala (Philippines) bagged the Best Youth Photographer Award (Camera) and the Best Youth Photographer Award… Read more

Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) continues the implementation of the Leveling Up Philippine Higher Education Institutions in Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Resources (LevelUPHEI AFAR) project funded by the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED). After the successful implementation of the 2nd Leadership Development Program for HEIs in the Philippines last year, SEARCA is now set to run the online Strategic Communication Planning Workshop: Enhancing Communication Skills for Higher Education Institutions in the Philippines (StratCom4HEIs) beginning 1 February until 14 March 2022 via the SEARCA Online Learning and… Read more

“Let us not discount the dynamic roles that women are taking as we navigate the evolving landscape of food security, nutrition and environment protection,” said Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, Director of the Southeast Asia Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), at the Women Strong Network ASEAN Kick Off: Models of Women in AgriBusiness held online on 24 January 2022. The launching of the Women Strong Network was jointly organized by the Women’s Business Council of the Philippines (WomenBizPH), Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), IPB University, Indonesia, and SEARCA. WomenBizPH… Read more

Images of farming families practicing healthy diets and engaging in nutritious food production during the persisting COVID-19 pandemic won in the 2021 photo contest of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) themed “One Health is Wealth: Healthy Agriculture and Sustainable Food Systems.” Photographers from Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam bagged the top three prizes and special awards in the 2021 edition of the annual competition. A photo depicting home gardening by Lindy Vivien Aldaba won the first prize. The winning picture is a vignette illustrating how the COVID-19 pandemic opened people’s minds to… Read more