Former Senate Committee chairman on Agriculture and Food Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan will talk about leveraging the role of family farming towards more productive and resilient food systems in the Philippines on April 25, 2023.
Dr. Glenn Gregorio, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) director, said Pangilinan will be joining the roster of eminent speakers at the SEARCA Agriculture and Development Seminar Series (ADSS) at SEARCA's headquarters in this town.
The three-term senator led the Senate committees on social justice and rural development as well as agrarian reform.
Other speakers at the SEARCA ADSS include ambassadors to the Philippines, a World Food Prize Laureate, Philippine cabinet members, chief executive officers of private firms, and distinguished scientists and experts from around the world.
"In this ADSS, SEARCA is keen to draw insights from Pangilinan's many years of experience as a lawyer, legislator, and farm owner, particularly in enabling policies and programs to pave the way for farming families as key actors in the Philippine food system," Gregorio said.
He explained that Pangilinan's seminar dovetails with SEARCA's work with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on analyzing public policies in the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Gregorio added that the International Fund for Agricultural Development-funded SEARCA-FAO project is a comprehensive analysis of the public policy trends related to promoting and implementing family farming.
To be held at the SEARCA Umali Auditorium, the ADSS is a face-to-face event that is open to the public.