SEARCA News

The ASEAN Working Group on Social Forestry (AWG-SF) Strategic Response Fund [ASRF], managed by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), received eight (8) proposals from seven (7) ASEAN Member States (AMS), namely, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The proposals submitted are on social forestry assessment and its contribution to livelihood (Cambodia); improvement of a training guide on Village Forestry Management Planning (Lao PDR); assessment and sustainable utilization of non-timber forest products (Myanmar and Thailand); a study of existing benefit-sharing mechanisms in community-based forest management (the Philippines); development… Read more

VICTORIA, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. The large contribution of Oriental Mindoro province in calamansi production has earned it the title "Calamansi King" of the Southwestern Tagalog Region in the Philippines. Among the province's fourteen towns, Victoria has the highest volume of production and average yield, as well as the biggest area planted to calamansi, a citrus widely produced in the country. … Read more

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – SEARCA alumna, Dr. Su Latt Phyu of Myanmar, presented her research study at the TropAg 2017 Conference held on 20-22 November 2017. Her research on "Developing Bayesian Networks to Advance Understanding the Relationship between SNP Markers and Abiotic Stress Tolerance, Yield and Yield Related Traits at Different Environments" is part of her doctoral dissertation, which was completed in 2017… Read more

BANGKOK, Thailand — Representatives of the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) and Dr. Didier Pillot of Montpellier SupAgro conducted a workshop for the MS Food Security and Climate Change (MS FSCC) project on 12-13 December 2017 hosted by Kasetsart University… Read more

MANILA, Philippines–SEARCA handed over to the Climate Change Commission (CCC) the Final Report of the project Climate Resilience and Green Growth (CRGG) in Critical Watersheds during the Climate Change Consciousness Week held on 22 November 2017 at Sofitel Hotel. … Read more

LAOAG CITY, Philippines–Dr. Lope B. Santos III and Dr. Paulo N. Pasicolan, SEARCA Unit Head for Project Development and Technical Services (PDTS) and consultant, respectively, presented the topic Institutional Capacity Building for Urban Resiliency to Climate Change: the Case of Lower Marikina River Basin at the ASEAN Forum on Urban Resilience on Climate Change and Disaster Risks Reduction Strategies held on 5-7 December 2017 here… Read more

In a seemingly sleepy town of Majayjay in Laguna, Philippines, a busy farm at the foot of the mystical Mt. Banahaw never runs out of activities for sustainable livestock and crop production. Popularly known as the Costales Nature Farms, the farm also lets its visitors experience firsthand the activities in farming such as harvesting, feeding farm animals, transplanting, seed sowing, fishing, and urban gardening, prompting the Department of Tourism (DOT) to give the farm the recognition of being the first farm tourism destination in the Philippines. … Read more

An ASEAN Technical Meeting and Multi-Stakeholder Policy Dialogue on Higher Agricultural Education, Research and Extension (ASEAN HAERE) for Food Security and Sustainability was jointly organized and sponsored by SEARCA, the Food Security Center (FSC) of the University of Hohenheim of Germany, and the Chulalongkorn University School of Agricultural Resources (CUSAR) of Thailand. Held on 6–7 December 2017 at the ASEAN Secretariat Building in Jakarta, Indonesia and attended by 30 participants, the meeting cum workshop intended to support the ASEAN Work Plan on Education and align HAERE into the priority areas of ASEAN… Read more

The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) High Officials approved for endorsement to the SEAMEO Council the upscaling of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) pilot-tested School and Home Gardens throughout Southeast Asia. … Read more

LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA, PHILIPPINES. Vietnamese researcher Dr. Thong Anh Tran presented his empirical insights into "Practices of adaptive co-management at the interface of flood management and adaptation" at the recently concluded 22nd International Conference of the Society for Human Ecology (SHE) through a SEARCA travel grant. The conference themed "Envisioning Pathways to Just and Sustainable Futures: Celebrating Diversity, Pursuing Integration and Developing Livable Communities" was held at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), Philippines, from 28 November to 01 December 2017. … Read more