THE Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has set October 31, 2024 as the deadline for applications for its Seed Fund for Research and Training (SFRT).
SEARCA director Glenn Gregorio, PhD, said the seed fund provides support of up to $15,000 for research and training projects.
SFRT is open to Southeast Asian researchers, scientists and academic professionals who have limited funds for their research or training proposals.
Gregorio said the applicants' proposed projects should align with SEARCA's strategic goals, reflect regional significance and demonstrate clear benefits to Southeast Asia's agricultural sector.
As such, the topic of proposed projects must fall within SEARCA's priority areas, namely agri-business models for increased productivity and income, sustainable farming systems and natural resource management, food and nutrition security, transformational leadership for agricultural and rural development (ARD), gender and youth engagement in ARD, enhanced ARD toward climate resilience, and EcoHealth or One Health applications to ARD.
"We believe in the power of research and innovation to transform agriculture across Southeast Asia," Gregorio said.
"Through SFRT, we are not only supporting researchers in the field but also encouraging regional collaboration to address critical challenges in food security, climate resilience, and agricultural development," he added.
Applications must be submitted via the Grants Information System portal on the SEARCA website.
"Through our capacity-building, research, innovation and knowledge-sharing programs, SEARCA has been at the forefront of advancing ARD in Southeast Asia for 58 years. In the next five years our development efforts will focus on carbon-WISE agriculture: Winnable Innovative Solutions for the Environment," Gregorio affirmed.