EPISODES of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) talk show "Sowing Seeds: Cultivating Youth's Future in Agriculture" were featured at the 2024 Science Film Festival, organized by Goethe Institut and the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) College of Development Communication (CDC), on Dec. 11 and 12, 2024.
According to SEARCA director Glenn Gregorio, "Sowing Seeds" is a career orientation initiative aimed at encouraging Southeast Asian youth to engage in agriculture.
Gregorio said this was implemented through SEARCA's Partnerships Unit (PU) as part of the center's Young Forces for Agricultural Innovation (#Y4AGRI) program, which aims to work for and work with out-of-school and in-school youth from school children and high school students to university students and young professionals (kiddies to yuppies).
Four "Sowing Seeds" sessions were held at the SEARCA Drilon Hall, showcasing two episodes of the SEARCA Youth in Agri Talk Show.
Episode 1 promotes agriculture as a fulfilling career and highlights its importance in ensuring food security, while Episode 2 discusses insects' crucial role in maintaining the ecosystem.
Gregorio said the sessions were attended by basic education students of The Learning Place and Los Baños National High School in Batong Malake, Los Baños, Laguna as well as UPLB Department of Science Communication-CDC students.
He said the young viewers were asked to share their thoughts and opinions about the episode themes, the guests, and the overall production to better understand their preferences in order to improve future episodes after each session.
The viewers were also given a tour of the SEARCA Hub for Agriculture and Rural Innovation for the Next Generation or SHARING AgriMuseum.
Gregorio noted that since 2005, the Science Film Festival has made scientific topics accessible and entertaining to a wide audience, showcasing that science can be enjoyable even to young audiences.
Hosted by SEARCA, this year's festival spotlighted films on net zero, carbon neutrality and the circular economy, to promote good practices and innovations that address the challenges posed by the climate crisis, he added.