SEARCA in the News

The government should slash the onerous tax of 26 percent to 27 percent on nonlife and agriculture insurance premium, an agri-finance expert said, stressing that the current policy hinders the entry of cash-rich private sector investors that can significantly accelerate rural farm activity through financing. In a webinar hosted by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), Jaime Aristotle Alip said tax on nonlife insurance, including those for crop or agriculture insurance, should be around the rate of life insurance, which is only at a minimal 2 percent. Other nonlife insurance with high tax… Read more

Prohibitive tax on agriculture insurance premium is a disincentive for insurers, an expert said. Jaime Aristotle Alip, chairman emeritus and pioneering founder of the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development Inc.-Mutually Reinforcing Institutions, said tax on non-life insurance, including those for crop or agriculture insurance should be around the rate of life insurance which is only at a minimal 2 percent. At present, tax on crop insurance premiums is about the same as non-life’s, 26 to 27 percent. “If you want private sector participation, you must level the playing field. You should lower down non-life premium tax (including tax for… Read more

A Filipino scientist was appointed as one of the new Champions of the United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021. He is Dr. Glenn Gregorio, a plant breeder researcher and director of the Philippines-hosted inter-governmental treaty organization Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) based in this municipality. The UN Food Systems Summit is expected to be held in September this year. It aims to raise awareness on the centrality of food system to the entire sustainable development agenda and draw attention to the urgency of transforming food systems, particularly in light of the coronavirus disease… Read more

SEARCA Director Dr. Glenn B Gregorio, one of the new UN Food Systems Champions, featured in the Good Juan segment of CNN Philippines on 26 March 2021… Read more

DR. Glenn Gregorio, a plant breeder researcher and Director of the Philippines-hosted Los Baños-based Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), has been appointed as one of the new Champions of the United Nations (UN) Food Systems Summit 2021. Expected to be held in September this year, the UN Food Systems Summit aims to raise awareness on the centrality of food system to the entire sustainable development agenda and draw attention to the urgency of transforming food systems, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the UN, “the Champions Network mobilizes a diverse range of people in… Read more

A Philippine-hosted intergovernmental treaty organization, in partnership with a Pasig-based startup, launched a digital agriculture exchange platform called AgriEX, which allows fair trade via a farm-to-fork system. The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture’s (Searca) Emerging Innovation for Growth (EIG) department and startup APPGeese have been working to establish a pilot digital agriculture platform in Laguna and Quezon provinces, particularly in vegetable farming communities at the foot of Mount Banahaw. During the virtual launch of the project, Raymund Austria, APPGeese chief executive officer, explained that AgriEX would help farmers attain financial inclusion with the use… Read more

“The year 2021 must be a year where previous justifications are to be rendered as no longer acceptable. Instead, the touted ‘new normal’ clearly means concrete actions that are wiser, effective, and sustainable.” Those words came from the mouth of Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, a famous plant breeder researcher and current director of the Philippines-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). The good news is: Dr. Gregorio has been appointed as one of the new Champions of the United Nations (UN) Food Systems Summit 2021. Dr. Gregorio is honored for being appointed as such… Read more

Small farmers may now avail of seed money from financial technology or fintech startups. Fintech startups in Asia are now offering support to smallholder farmers in accessing potential markets, said Christian Lauron, SGV Financial Services Consulting Partner and Government & Public Sector Leader. Fintech also provides access to affordable credit, capital for agricultural equipment and other financial services, Lauron said at an online forum on the potential of fintech in advancing agricultural developmentorganized by the SyCip Gorres Velayo & Co. (SGV) and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). The forum discussed fintech’s role… Read more

Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) Director Glenn B. Gregorio has been named as one of the new Food Systems Champions of this year’s United Nations Food Systems Summit. The National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL) announced that Gregorio, a professor at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), made it to the list of staunch advocates of the Food Systems of the UN Food Systems Summit 2021. “Congratulations to Academician Glenn B. Gregorio for being one of the new Food Systems Champions of the United Nations Food Systems Summit… Read more

If smallholder farmers in the Philippines want to compete with those having big farms, the best they can do is to employ the so-called agricultural clusters approach. That’s one way of enhancing their competitiveness, according to a new policy paper. “An agricultural cluster is a strategic approach to operationalize the appropriate channels at a scale necessary for (smallholder farms) to have enhanced competitive strength to connect with national and international markets,” said the paper released by the Laguna-based Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). The agriculture-based small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries… Read more