SEARCA in the News

Senator Win Gatchalian has called on all agencies concerned to go after smugglers of agricultural commodities and protect local farmers from unwarranted competition. “Kaliwa’t kanan ang mga nakukumpiskang produktong smuggled pero wala pang nahuhuling malaking isda. Dapat masawata ang mismong mga 'big fish' upang mahinto o mabawasan na ang iligal na pag-aangkat ng mga produkto (Smuggled products are being confiscated left and right but no big fish has been caught yet. The 'big fish' themselves must be harmed in order to stop or reduce the illegal importation of products),” Gatchalian said. The Senate Committee of the Whole even released a… Read more

At least 14 Philippine higher education institutions (HEI) represented by 21 administrators and senior and junior faculty members joined a cross-visit to Kasetsart University (KU), a leading research university in Thailand, in early December 2022. The Cross-Visits to Higher Education Institutions in Seameo Member Countries-Thailand is one of the components of the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHEd)-funded project on Leveling-Up Philippine Higher Education Institutions in Agriculture, Fisheries, and Natural Resources (LevelUPHEI AFAR) implemented by Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). Seameo stands for Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization, a regional intergovernmental organization… Read more

An international refereed journal published by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), the Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development (AJAD), published the latest papers that paints a grim reality of a possible global food crisis. SEARCA Director Glenn Gregorio said the latest papers delved into food crisis threats that may be brought about by the Ukraine war, climate shocks experienced by major food granaries, the Covid-19 pandemic and a variety of country-specific hurdles in agriculture and development in Asia. However, Gregorio noted that "equally important with these debacles are tested responses offered by… Read more

With the theme "Future Proofing Agriculture," the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) conducted a forum that gathered scholars to discuss strategies to ensure agricultural productivity in a future world that is full of uncertainties and confronted with environmental and social problems. The event held earlier this month was the 4th University Consortium (UC) Faculty Forum participated by more than 40 US officials, faculty members and guests at the Science City of Muñoz in Nueva Ecija. According to the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), the 4th UC Faculty Forum was the first major event… Read more

THE Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently launched a pioneering program on Transformational Agricultural Innovation Systems for the New Future (TrAInS) to provide innovative solutions to the rising challenges in agriculture and the environment. According to SEARCA Director Glenn Gregorio, there are 30 participants from various Southeast Asian (SEA) higher education institutions, government ministries and agencies, non-government and farmers' organizations, and private and civil society organizations who are actively involved in research and extension activities. TrAInS is a nine-week online training workshop… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture-Agri-Innovator Program (SEARCA-AIP), a short-term training program, is advocating for a human-centered approach combining "design thinking" as a mindset and "lean startup" as a methodology for developing agricultural innovations. According to Dr. Glenn Gregorio, SEARCA director, this program contributes to responding to an era of change when the vulnerabilities, uncertainties, complexities and ambiguities of a fast-evolving environment dictate the way agricultural challenges are appraised and addressed for agri-ventures and their innovations flourish in Agriculture 4.0. Gregorio noted that SEARCA-AIP, which will feature weekly sessions, was formally launched on Nov… Read more

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently launched a pioneering program on Transformational Agricultural Innovation Systems for the New Future (TrAInS) to provide innovative solutions to the rising challenges in agriculture and the environment. According to SEARCA Director Glenn Gregorio, there are 30 participants from various Southeast Asian (SEA) higher education institutions, government ministries and agencies, non-government and farmers' organizations, and private and civil society organizations who are involved in research and extension activities. TrAInS is a nine-week online training workshop that… Read more

Filipino students, researchers, data analysts, computer programmers, app developers and other stakeholders who are interested to join the "Online Design Thinking Class" of FLExPHD (Food is Life Exemplified for Planetary Health Diet) have until Dec. 31, 2022 to submit their application. Director Glenn Gregorio of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) said FLExPHD is a mobile app development competition open to organizations and app developers who can collaborate to find solutions to the unhealthy diet among Filipinos. FlexPHD is an initiative of SEARCA in partnership with the National Academy of Science and Technology… Read more

A study conducted by scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) showed that genetically engineered plants yielded more vegetable oil. Based on the results of the study, model plant Arabidopsis accumulated 15 to 18 percent more oil in its seeds when it was grown with the modified protein under laboratory conditions. The study, which was published at the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), said finding ways to make crops yield more oil in their seeds is a holy grail for the farming industry. "However, most oil-producing crops — such as oil palm… Read more

The Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) successfully offered the 6th UC Summer School at the Banyuwanggi Regency and Malang, Indonesia. According to Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) headquartered at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), the 6th UC Summer School from November 13 to 17, 2022 was the first activity of the UC to be conducted face-to-face after the pandemic. SEARCA said the activity has been postponed from 2020 to 2021 due to pandemic restrictions as the virtual conduct of the program will… Read more