SEARCA in the News

Filipinos won six of the seven prizes in the latest edition of the annual photo contest of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). Themed “Emerging Agricultural Innovations for the Next Generation,” the 2022 edition of the competition searched for images that depict technologies and innovation that are modernizing and transforming agriculture and rural development towards increased food supply and security. Now on its 16th year, the SEARCA annual photo contest attracted 760 entries from 182 photographers from 10 countries, namely, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and… Read more

Pili farmers in the Bicol Region received support from the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) to help them revive their livelihood activities that were stalled by the pandemic and typhoons. Through its Grants for Research toward Agricultural Innovative Solutions (GRAINS), SEARCA funded a project of the Socio-Economic Development Program Multi-Purpose Cooperative (SEDP-MPC) called “Technology Adoption for People-Centered Innovation and Livelihood Integration (PILI).” SEARCA Program Head for Emerging Innovation Glenn Baticados stressed that with GRAINS, SEARCA is pushing for starter technologies and projects that will benefit farming communities. According to SEDP-MPC Chairman Jovic Lobrigo… Read more

The eggplant is used in various cuisines around the world. It can be sliced, battered, and deep-fried, and then served with various sauces.  It can also be stuffed with meat, rice, or other fillings and then baked. In the Philippines, eggplant is one of the main ingredients of pinakbet, torta, sinigang, ensalada, and kare-kare.    The popularity of eggplant is the reason why it is the number one vegetable in the country – in terms of area planted (20,000 hectares) and volume of production (179,000 metric tons).  Most of the top producing regions are located in Luzon like Ilocos, Central Luzon… Read more

A distinguished female educator and administrator at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) has been appointed as deputy director for programs of the Philippine government-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). For the first time, according to SEARCA Director Glenn Gregorio, a Malaysian woman has been appointed for a three-year term starting Jan. 1, 2023. "I am very happy that we now have Dr. Nur Azura Binti Adam as our deputy director for programs since the post had been vacant since 2006. I am doubly pleased that with Dr. Nur we have not only the first… Read more

The Philippine-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) conducted on Wednesday training on agri-robotics for learners and educators of the Dagatan Family Farm School (DFFS) in Batangas. According to SEARCA headed by Director Glenn Gregorio, the agri-robotics training is part of a one-day learning activity that will be the first collaboration between SEARCA and DFFS, which is located in Lipa, Batangas and has the distinction of being the first family farming school in Asia. He said the learning activity was conceived on Jan. 13, 2023 when SEARCA officers and DFFS staff, DFFS school director… Read more

THE Cavite State University (CvSU) received a citation recognizing its bee program's contribution to and partnership with the National Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture Program of the Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Plant Industry (DA-BPI). The accolade was given during the DA-BPI 93rd anniversary held at BPI Compound, San Andres, Malate, Manila on January 19, 2023. CvSU was cited for providing technical assistance in beekeeping and strengthening collaboration that inspire the society to adopt bee farming that complement in the local food production in National Capital Region. The bee program is a pet project of the CvSU College of Arts and… Read more

The Philippine government-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) has reaffirmed the need to build a culture of agri-innovation in action among the Filipino youth during the recently held Nanotechnology Webinar Series Friday, January 20. Searca director Glenn Gregorio, also a National Academy of Science and Technology-Philippines academician, has made an emphasis on this during the sixth session of the webinar "Empowering Young Filipino Researchers for an Emerging Technology Ready Philippines." Headquartered on the campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), Searca is a nonprofit organization established by the Southeast Asian… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) head reaffirmed the need to build a culture of agri-innovation among the Filipino youth. Speaking at the sixth session of the Webinar Series on Nanotechnology titled “Empowering Young Filipino Researchers for an Emerging Technology Ready Philippines,” SEARCA Director Dr. Glenn Gregorio emphasized the innovations for transformational change and how to reinforce a transformed agricultural food system in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia, said a SEARCA news release. Gregorio told the webinar organized by the Department of Science and Technology’s Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging… Read more

To provide farmers better access to supplies for agricultural production, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) supported a project to digitize agri-supply stores through the GoEden online platform. “GoEden consolidates products from various agri-supply stores into a one-stop online shop. This helps farmers cut travel time to multiple stores and avoid settling for products that fall short of requirements. The goal is to provide farmers a wide choice of products through an organized e-commerce platform,” said SEARCA director Glenn Gregorio. The SEARCA Grants for Research towards Agricultural Innovative Solutions (GRAINS) funded the digital… Read more

For the first time, a Malaysian and a woman has been appointed as Deputy Director for Programs of the Philippine government-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). The appointment of Assoc. Prof. Ts. Dr. Nur Azura Binti Adam, a distinguished educator and administrator at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), took effect on 1 January 2023. Her appointment is for a three-year term. “I am very happy that we now have Dr. Nur as our Deputy Director for Programs since the post had been vacant since 2006. I am doubly pleased that with Dr. Nur we… Read more