MANILA, Philippines — The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has appointed Mercedita Sombilla, a former agriculture undersecretary, as its 12th director and its first female head in nearly 60 years.
Sombilla's three-year term as director of one of the leading non-profit organizations in agriculture in the region started on April 1.
SEARCA noted that Sombilla's appointment comes after her distinguished public service career. Sombilla served as an undersecretary of the Department of Agriculture during the initial years of the current administration.
Sombilla has been a long-standing policy advocate at the National Economic and Development Authority, where she also served in various capacities, including as an undersecretary.
She held key research and advisory positions at the International Food Policy Research Institute, International Rice Research Institute and SEARCA itself.
Sombilla's research focused on the complexities of agricultural production, marketing, trade and prices that have helped shape major initiatives on agricultural transformation across Southeast Asia and South Asia, according to SEARCA.
Sombilla said there is a "need to shift from business-as-usual development to transformational development" as well as forward-looking policies to fast-track modernization, drive innovation, strengthen capacity building and nurture inclusivity in Southeast Asia.
"SEARCA's capacity to contribute to this shift must be bolstered through informed policy actions and equipping agricultural stakeholders with knowledge and tools to adopt and use technologies and innovations," she said.
She added: "Let's make SEARCA the go-to center for policy actions and a champion for knowledge and innovation that empower agricultural stakeholders in the region now and in the future."
Sombilla replaced Glenn Gregorio, who served two six-year terms as SEARCA's head. Hosted by the Philippine government, the Los Baños-based SEARCA is the center of excellence in agriculture of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization.
SEARCA said its core mandate is threefold: to provide high-quality graduate education and training in agriculture, to conduct and coordinate regionally relevant research and to disseminate research findings to inform policy and practice across Southeast Asia. The center was established in 1966.