SEARCA in the News

Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) is pushing for technology-based innovations in garlic production as the Philippines still imports 90 percent of the country's demand for this particular farm commodity. In a study, SEARCA said raising Philippines' garlic sufficiency level is possible through a "package of technology", which mainly involves good seeds and fertilization using gibberelic acid and organic fertilizer. Right now, the Philippines is still far from being self-sufficient in garlic. In 2018, the country imported more than 10 percent of the country's demand for this agricultural product. China, India, and Hong Kong… Read more

The Laguna provincial government has formalized an agreement with the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) to jointly pursue capacity-development activities and exchange knowledge resources, including publications. Laguna Gov. Ramil Hernandez said the partnership with the University of the Philippines Los Baños-based SEARCA is vital to Laguna's growth and development. "We believe that SEARCA has the technical knowledge and skills to address the plight of our community. The provincial government of Laguna is willing to participate," Hernandez said. According to Rep. Ruth Mariano Hernandez of the Second District of Laguna, they are looking forward… Read more

Sources: Philippine Information Agency; Azerbaijan News.Net; Beijing Bulletin; Big News Network; Malaysia Sun; Mumbai News.Net; Myanmar News.Net; Myanmar Sun; Pakistan News.Net; Philippine Times; Southeast Asia News.Net; The Asia News.Net; Vietnam Tribune LOS BAÑOS, Laguna, Nov 5 -- Young innovators are called to join the Innovation Olympics 2.0, an "agri hackathon" for the youth to develop innovative solutions for the farming sector of the country. The deadline for entries is on November 7, 2020. Submission may be done online via https://tinyurl.com/IO2Application. Themed "Precision Agriculture for Small-Scale Vegetable Farming," Innovation Olympics 2.0 is a way for students to share, create, and pilot… Read more

Rise Up, Young Innovators: Innovation Olympics 2.0 opens nationwide Along with the wave of changes that this new normal has been bringing, innovative technology solutions also take the center stage in the Innovation Olympics 2.0, an "agri hackathon" for young innovators to rise up in developing innovative solutions for the farming sector of the country. "Through the Innovation Olympics, we hope to introduce technological innovations to improve vegetable production, and to inspire the youth to consider farming as a professional goal and be ambassadors of modern-day agriculture," said Henk Hermans, General Manager of East-West Seed Philippines. With this year's theme… Read more

Three Filipinos won the top prizes in the Youth COVIDeo Contest of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), besting 72 entries from five countries. The contest aimed to showcase how the youth played a part in local food production during the COVID-19 pandemic as part of SEARCA's Young Forces for Agricultural Innovation (#Y4AGRI) program. Themed "Youth and Locally Grown Food," the contest sought video stories from Southeast Asian youth on how and why young people grow their food at home, in school or in the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontliner-turned-farmer Marcelino Padilla… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna, Oct 29 (PIA) -- The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has formalized its ties with the Provincial Government of Laguna (PGL) this month to jointly pursue capacity development activities and exchange knowledge resources, including publications. Laguna Governor Ramil L. Hernandez said SEARCA's focus on scientific inquiry, agricultural extension, and rural development is vital to Laguna's growth and development. "We believe that SEARCA has the technical knowledge and skills to address the plight of our community. The Provincial Government of Laguna is willing to participate," he said. This was affirmed by… Read more

LAGUNA, Oct. 29 -- The second virtual session of the Third ASEAN Conference on Biodiversity or ACB 2020 on Tuesday drew over a hundred representatives from government, private sector, academia and non-government agencies from the ASEAN. The attending experts weighed in with their experiences and views on biodiversity mainstreaming relevant to the Region's context. The meeting held on Zoom and broadcast live on Facebook focused on mainstreaming of biodiversity, or the process of embedding biodiversity considerations into policies and practices of sectors that rely and have an impact on it. Keynoted by Oliver Hillel, programme officer of the Secretariat of… Read more

In a recent Mindanao-wide webinar, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) introduced "omics" as an emerging field of scientific technology that involves the study of molecular interactions found in living organisms. During the webinar, Glenn B. Gregorio, SEARCA director, discussed the importance of integrating omics in crop breeding program from variety development up to commercialization. The webinar titled "Omics Research, Moving Past Pandemics: Omics in Agriculture" organized by the Philippine Genome Center Mindanao focused on potential applications, challenges and solutions of omics technologies in mitigating impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic… Read more

Along with the wave of changes that this new normal has been bringing, innovative technology solutions also take the center stage in the Innovation Olympics 2.0, an "agri hackathon" for young innovators to rise up in developing innovative solutions for the farming sector of the country. "Through the Innovation Olympics, we hope to introduce technological innovations to improve vegetable production, and to inspire the youth to consider farming as a professional goal and be ambassadors of modern day agriculture," said Henk Hermans, General Manager of East-West Seed Philippines. With this year's theme "Precision Agriculture for Small-Scale Vegetable Farming", Innovation Olympics… Read more

Integrating omics is important in crop breeding program from variety development up to commercialization. This was discussed by Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), at the recent Mindanao-wide webinar on "Omics Research, Moving Past Pandemics: Omics in Agriculture." Omics is an emerging field of scientific technology that involves the study of molecular interactions found in living organisms, Gregorio explained. Organized by the Philippine Genome Center Mindanao, the webinar focused on potential applications, challenges and solutions of omics technologies in mitigating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, a SEARCA… Read more