SEARCA in the News

The country's agriculture sector's potential to grow significantly within this year has been wiped out by floods brought about by Typhoon Ulysses, an international think tank said. Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) Director Glenn B. Gregorio said that it is now unlikely for agriculture, the only subsector in the Philippine economy that registered growth throughout the pandemic, to keep its momentum until the end of the year. This, according to him, is due to Ulysses, together with other typhoons that hit the country over the last few weeks. "It should be noted that… Read more

YOUNG Filipino innovators have until November 17 to register for the Innovation Olympics 2.0, a competition challenging the next generation of agriculture, business and technology leaders to develop innovative solutions to challenges faced by urban and rural smallholder vegetable farmers. The event is a project of the East-West Seed in partnership with the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture, Sensient Colors LLC, University of the Philippines Los Baños, UPLB-Technology Transfer and Business Development Office, UPLB Startup Innovation and Business Opportunity Linkaging Labs, and APEX: The UPLB Business Network. The theme of the competition's second edition… Read more

Young Filipino innovators have until November 17 to register for the Innovation Olympics 2.0, a competition challenging the next generation of agriculture, business and technology leaders to develop innovative solutions to real-life challenges of urban and rural smallholder vegetable farmers. The theme of the competition's second edition is "Precision Agriculture for Small-Scale Vegetable Farming." Given that the agriculture sector in the Philippines, particularly its small-holder farms, have been characterized with perennial productivity woes, the Innovation Olympics aims to capitalize on the creative ideas and energies of the youth so they become active contributors of solutions that will increase agricultural productivity… Read more

Organizers of Innovation Olympics 2.0 have announced that university students joining the "agri hackathon" to develop innovative solutions for the farming sector have until Nov. 17, 2020 to submit their applications for registration. Themed "Precision Agriculture for Small-Scale Vegetable Farming," Innovation Olympics 2.0 is a way for university students to share, create and pilot new technology solutions for urban and rural smallholder vegetable farmers. Director Glenn Baticados of the University of the Philippines Los Baños Technology Transfer and Business Development Office (UPLB-TTBDO) explained that precision agriculture aims to increase the profitability of farmers while sustaining the environment through employing more… Read more

THE Philippine government-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) recently conducted a seminar that focused on calamansi waste utilization and product development opportunities for Oriental Mindoro farmer-leaders, processors and representatives from the private sector and government. Pedcris Orencio, SEARCA program head for Research and Thought Leadership, said participants including those from the Departments of Agriculture (DA), Science and Technology (DoST) and Trade and Industry (DTI) who gained a good grasp of the calamansi processing industry, opportunities and challenges. "The virtual seminar aimed to enable the participants to recommend interventions and strategies for potential calamansi… Read more

An improved native garlic variety, the Batanes white, can raise garlic production as it has the highest yield at 4.9 metric tons per hectare (MT/ha), even posting as much as 9.3 MT/ha in Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte. The Department of Agriculture (DA)-Region 1 (Ilocos Region) has crafted a revival program to raise garlic sufficiency as current supply is largely imported — more than 90 percent. Field tests have shown native garlic varieties can catch up in competitiveness with imported garlic that have a yield of 10 to 15 MT/ha such as that in China. Remarkably, the improved native garlic has shown… Read more

AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT is likely to have improved in the third quarter due to favorable indications from the rice harvest, supported by good weather and the easing of quarantine restrictions, according to the Agriculture department and industry experts. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is scheduled to release production indicators for the farm sector today, Nov. 9. Asked to comment ahead of the data release, Department of Agriculture spokesperson Noel O. Reyes said the agriculture sector's performance during the third quarter was positive. In a mobile phone interview, Mr. Reyes based his assessment on a PSA report which estimated the output of… Read more

A more progressive regulation on animal biotechnology may hold the potential to contribute to food security and a more sustainable agriculture, according to an Argentinian expert in regulation and policymaking for biotechnology. "If the Philippines has the opportunity to revise regulations on animal biotechnology, it can provide the capacity to assess if these technologies may be used for food production in the country and contribute to food security and a more sustainable agriculture," Dr. Martin Lema of the University of Quilmes in Argentina said. Lema spoke at the recent SEARCA Online Learning and Virtual Engagement (SOLVE) webinar of the Southeast… Read more

The deadline for young Filipino innovators to register for the Innovation Olympics 2.0, an "agri hackathon" to develop innovative solutions for the farming sector, has been extended until November 17, 2020 because of typhoon Rolly. The Innovation Olympics 2.0 is made possible by the partnership of East-West Seed with the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), Sensient Colors LLC, UPLB, UPLB-TTBDO, UPLB Startup Innovation and Business Opportunity Linkaging Labs (SIBOL Labs), and APEX: The UPLB Business Network. The organizers have also dropped the two-minute elevator pitch from the list of application requirements to make… Read more

THE UNIVERSITY of the Philippines-Los Banos Office of Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs facilitated the repatriation of seven students and their five dependents to Timor-Leste under the Oplan Hatid program. The process was carried out in coordination with the Embassy of Timor-Leste in Manila, the UPLB Office of the Chancellor, and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture. The students, all SEARCA scholars, and their dependents, were ferried from the UPLB campus aboard a SEARCA vehicle and the university's coaster. The group was sent off by head of International Student Relations of OVCSA Dr. Jea… Read more