SEARCA in the News

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna: The Philippine government-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has marked the completion of one of its Institutional Development Assistance (IDA) projects. SEARCA Director Glenn Gregorio said the project Leveling-up Philippine Higher Education Institutions in Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Resources was funded by the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd). Spanning from 2021 to 2013, the project was under CHEd's International Continuing Professional Education, or ICPE program. Gregorio said the project included short-term training programs, mobility exchanges, summer schools, faculty-graduate forums, cross-visits and active participation in the Southeast Asian University Consortium for… Read more

SEARCA, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture, and Spain's FPEmpresa, a nonprofit association of vocational education and training (VET) centers, have joined forces in a five-year partnership. The collaboration aims to enhance vocational education and training in Southeast Asia. In a virtual signing ceremony on January 24, 2024, SEARCA Director Glenn Gregorio and FPEmpresa President Luis García Domínguez formalized the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This collaboration represents a step towards SEARCA's vision of expanding its network and fostering sustainable development. Under the MOU, SEARCA and FPEmpresa will collaborate on capacity development programs, including mobility… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), hosted by the Philippine government, and Spain's Asociación de Centros de Formación Profesional (FPEmpresa), have signed a five-year collaboration agreement for vocational education and training (VET) in a virtual ceremony. FPEmpresa is a nonprofit association representing Spain's public, semi-private, and private VET centers. Meanwhile, SEARCA, established by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), serves as a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing graduate education and coordinating research in agriculture. Spain is an associate member country of SEAMEO, which is SEARCA's parent organization. "This collaboration aligns with… Read more

The Philippine government-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and Spain's Asociación de Centros de Formación Profesional (FPEmpresa) inked a five-year agreement for collaboration in vocational education and training (VET) in a virtual signing ceremony on January 24, 2024. FPEmpresa is a nonprofit association of Spain's public, semi-private and private VET centers. On the other hand, SEARCA is a nonprofit organization by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) to provide graduate education as well as promote, undertake, and coordinate research in agriculture. Spain is an associate member country of SEAMEO, SEARCA's mother… Read more

THE University of the Philippines Los Baños-based Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and Spain-based Asociación de Centros de Formación Profesional (FPEmpresa) have signed an agreement to cooperate in areas of common interest, such as education, training and research, primarily on vocational education and training (VET). FPEmpresa, a nonprofit association of Spain's public, semi-private and private VET centers, and SEARCA forged a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in a virtual signing ceremony on Jan. 24, 2024. The five-year MoU was signed by SEARCA Director Glenn Gregorio and FPEmpresa President and board member Luis García Domínguez… Read more

After a 5-year lull due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Provincial Government of Bohol is hosting the resumption of the Philippine Farm Tourism Conference set at The Bellevue Resort in Panglao from February 26 to 28. Now on its 7th edition, the international event is organized by the International School of Sustainable Tourism (ISST) and supported by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) based in Los Baños, Laguna. Themed, "Farm Tourism: Consciousness for Healthy Living and New Experiences," the conference will showcase lessons from the pandemic, and share best practices which seeks to… Read more

IN collaboration with the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) Graduate School and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) organized a workshop on coping strategies for mental health at the SEARCA headquarters in College, Los Baños, Laguna on Jan. 9, 2024. According to SEARCA director Glenn Gregorio, the workshop titled "New Year, New You: Coping Strategies to Improve Mental Health" also highlighted the collaboration between UPLB and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). UPLB and UPM are both members of the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resource (UC)… Read more

FIFTY-TWO faculty and staff of Philippine higher education institutions (HEIs) joined cross-visits to institutions in Singapore and Indonesia recently conducted by the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB)-headquartered Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). According to SEARCA director Dr. Glenn Gregorio, the cross-visits were part of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd)-funded project Leveling-Up Philippine Higher Education Institutions in Agriculture, Fisheries, and Natural Resources (LevelUPHEI AFAR) implemented by SEARCA. Gregorio said the project aims to upgrade the institutional capacities of the State Universities and Colleges-Association of College of Agriculture in the Philippines Inc… Read more

Studies on challenges to agriculture in Southeast Asia include one that analyzes the current concerns surrounding a potential rice crisis due to attacks on the infrastructure of Ukraine's food export system and the onset of a severe El Niño in Asian rice-producing regions. The paper, titled "Back in the Soup: Now What?" by food security expert and Harvard University professor emeritus C. Peter Timmer examines the global rice market's outlook as of early September 2023. Timmer's paper is among the studies published in the December 2023 edition of the Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development (AJAD). AJAD is an internationally… Read more

UNIVERSITY of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB)-based Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) announced the latest six recipients and projects of the Grants for Research toward Agricultural Innovative Solutions (GRAINS) in five Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. SEARCA Director Glenn Gregorio said the six GRAINS recipients from Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and the Philippines received grants ranging from $10,000 to $15,000 each. Gregorio said the projects tackle farming challenges through emerging solutions, such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things or IoT devices, satellite technologies and digital agriculture. He said the grant recipients… Read more