SEARCA in the News

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) organized the maiden run of its  InnovEIGhts ideation session on Lego education robotics for smart agriculture last April 7. Dubbed “Brewing Education and Creativity AGRI 4.0,” the ideation session included training in the basics of building, programming, and operating Lego as well as a demo of the proper usage of the accompanying software. It also introduced the participants to the Snapmaker and DOBOT robotic arm, both of which are housed in the SEARCA Hub for Agriculture and Rural Innovation for the Next Generation (SHARING). Titled “Brewing Education… Read more

The Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc. (PSFI) and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) are jointly organizing a forum on transforming agriculture and food systems through agricultural innovation. It will be held virtually on April 19-20, 2022. SEARCA Director Glenn B. Gregorio said PSFI and SEARCA will bring together speakers and participants from local government units, farmer groups, academe, nongovernmental organizations, and other farming organizations as well as farmer-entrepreneurs in the Philippines. He said the forum will discuss inclusive and innovative financing models that can impact on the scalability of farming and agribusiness ventures… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna (April 5)—The Philippine government-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) has presented to the Department of Education (DepEd) two new learning facilities for agricultural innovation. Searca Director Glenn Gregorio during his visit to the DepEd recently apprised Secretary Leonor Briones of the soon-to-open Searca Hub for agriculture and Rural Innovation for the Next Generation (Sharing), an interactive museum, and the Searca iCreate which will provide makerspaces and a training facility for robotics, prototyping and design thinking. “At Searca, we are one with DepEd in enriching the learning competencies of our Filipino… Read more

The following link will take you to INQUIRER.net: Day of the Landless: The failed promises of land reform in PHhttps://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1576211/day-of-the-landless-the-failed-promises-of-land-reform-in-ph… Read more

DUE to the COVID-19 pandemic, food supply chains have undergone unprecedented stresses with bottlenecks from farm labor, processing, transport and logistics but also saw pivotal shifts in consumer demand. However, resiliency prevailed so much so that food moved to where it was needed during lockdowns. The last two years gave the world an invaluable lesson: that food security was not just about food availability, but also about access to and delivery of food from farm to table that was safe and clean. An advocate of a sustainable food supply chain has been Pilipinas Shell Foundation Inc. (PSFI) since it launched… Read more

A senior fellow of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) headquartered in the campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) presented to SEARCA the concept of carbon wise rice. Dr. Eero Nissila, Finland-based Newfields Consulting Ltd. (NCL) managing director and chairman, was recently in a meeting with SEARCA management at the SEARCA headquarters to present the said CWR concepT. NCL is a company driven and owned by international consultants specializing in crop production and crop improvement systems. "Rice is the fastest-growing staple food in South Africa. It is also a… Read more

Two new learning facilities for agricultural innovation were presented to Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Leonor M. Briones by Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, Director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), during his visit to DepEd on 29 March 2022. Gregorio apprised the education chief of the soon-to-open SEARCA Hub for Agriculture and Rural Innovation for the Next Generation (SHARING), an interactive museum, and the SEARCA iCREATE, which will provide makerspaces and a training facility for robotics, prototyping, and design thinking. Gregorio stressed that the two facilities are avenues for SEARCA to promote… Read more

Significant postharvest losses of mango, onion and tomato were bared in a recent study funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Dubbed, "Analysis of Fruit and Vegetable Value Chains in the Philippines," the study conducted by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) revealed the postharvest losses along the value chains of the three commodities. The results of the study were presented at a recent virtual national policy forum jointly organized by SEARCA and SyCip Gorres Velayo and Company (SGV and Co.), said a SEARCA news release. Agriculture Undersecretary Evelyn Laviña for High Value… Read more

NONGOVERNMENT organization Kids Who Farm (KWH) has started luring the youth into agriculture using hydroponics technology which produces vegetables prolifically without requiring much pesticide and can grow "soil-less." During a "Pista ng Pagkain at Kabataang Pinoy" festival held by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca), KWH founder Muneer Hinay said that households can significantly contribute to solving the Philippines' food security concern. "I realized that even a small child can actually propose solutions to the pressing problems of food security," said Raaina Hinay. That has been true for his family as his daughter… Read more

NONGOVERNMENT organization Kids Who Farm (KWH) is using hydroponics to lure the youth into agriculture. During the recent Pista ng Pagkain at Kabataang Pinoy festival held by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca), KWH founder Muneer Hinay discussed the advantages of hydroponics in helping address food security at the local level. "In hydroponics, the plant roots absorb balanced nutrients dissolved in water that meet all the plant development requirements. The basic setup is you have a container or grow box, water inside with nutrient solution and an air space so the container is… Read more