SEARCA in the News

The United Nations has honoured an Aston University visiting researcher for her work within the sustainability and renewable energy sector. Czaneil Gomez received the 2024 Youth Award from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations' Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP). Czaneil is an early career researcher from the Philippines based at the University of the Philippines Los Baños and Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). She received the honour for her research conducted at Aston University's Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute (EBRI), which is recognised globally for its expertise in the area… Read more

AT least 11 schools in the province of Rizal underwent monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activity as part of the School Edible Landscaping for Entrepreneurship (SEL4E) Project of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). SEARCA director Glenn Gregorio said the M&E activity conducted aimed to evaluate the transfer and application of training through the participants' re-entry action plans, monitor project implementation progress and gather project updates from the schools. Gregorio noted that among the post-training expectations from the participants was the establishment or improvement of their respective school gardens. "It is also expected that… Read more

Thai Ambassador to the Philippines Tull Traisorat visited the Philippine government-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) to discuss joint efforts in a year-long celebration of the 75th anniversary of Philippines-Thailand diplomatic relations this year. The envoy was accompanied by Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission Rangsant Srimangkorn and First Secretary Witsarut Piyavongsomboon. They were received by SEARCA Center Director Dr. Glenn Gregorio and other SEARCA officials. Traisorat began by lauding SEARCA's significant contribution to agriculture development and food security in Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand. He also thanked the Center for its continuous… Read more

A PROFESSOR from the United States-based Michigan State University (MSU) and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) have discussed collaboration prospects on research, innovation, capacity building and publication. Prof. Evangelyn Alocilja of MSU Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering visited SEARCA on May 28 and was oriented on the center's mandate, core programs and offerings. SEARCA program head Gerlie Tatlonghari of the Research and Thought Leadership Department shared the center's plan to establish the Consortium for Agricultural Development, Research and Extension (CADRE). Tatlonghari explained that CADRE is a regional network of high-caliber, like-minded… Read more

THE University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) and the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB)-based Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) have agreed to collaborate on agribusiness-related initiatives. The five-year agreement was signed by SEARCA Director Glenn Gregorio and UA&P President Winston Conrad Padojinog, with Associate Professor Joselito Florendo, SEARCA deputy director for administration, and Marya Svetlana Camacho, UA&P vice president for faculty affairs, as witnesses, on May 27 at UA&P in Pasig City. Gregorio said SEARCA and UA&P share common priority areas, such as food security and agribusiness, adding that the… Read more

AN executive from the Dalhousie University (DU) of Canada visited the Laguna-based Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) to explore potential collaboration areas on scholarship and capacity building. During the visit on May 22, 2024, DU Assistant Vice President for Global Relations Balakrishnan Prithiviraj was accompanied by the University of the Philippines Los Baños Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension Nathaniel Bantayan. They were received by Associate Prof. Joselito Florendo, SEARCA deputy director for administration. With them in the meeting were Sharon Malaiba, head of the SEARCA Partnerships Unit (PU); Bernice Anne De Torres… Read more

THE Philippine government-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) organized a Malaysia edition of the "Sowing Seeds: Cultivating Youth's Future in Agriculture," a career orientation program for senior high school and pre-university students in Sedrang, Malaysia on May 10, 2024. According to SEARCA Director Glenn Gregorio, the program which was organized through SEARCA's Partnerships Unit (PU) together with Pusat Asasi Sains Universiti Putra Malaysia (ASPutra) is under the center's banner youth initiative called Young Forces for Agricultural Innovation (#Y4AGRI). Known as the Center for Foundation Studies in Science of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), ASPutra… Read more

International and Philippine-based research institutions and other stakeholders recently marked the two decades of use of Bt corn, or locally known as yellow corn, after its first commercial planting in the Philippines in 2003. The Southeast Asian Regional for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) together with Bayer Crop Science in the Philippines led the "20 Years and Onward: Advancing the Future of Philippine Yellow Corn" Forum at a hotel in Makati City More than 160 attendees from public and private sectors attended the forum onsite and online, including from the academe, industry, business chambers, farmer groups, nongovernmental organizations… Read more

A CENTRAL Luzon State University (CLSU) professor received a full grant from the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and The Head Foundation (THF) for the 2024 Leadership Development Program for Higher Education Institutions (LDP-HEI) program. Associate Professor Maria Adrielle Estigoy of the CLSU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Presidential Management Services director, was one of 10 selected grantees of a full grant from SEARCA and THF. From 11 Southeast Asian countries, 28 individuals participated in the program, which was composed of HEI presidents, vice presidents, deans, directors and heads. The program runs… Read more

FIVE young individuals involved in agriculture received P50,000 each as seed money as part of a program of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) to attract more youth to farming. Those who each received P50,000 in grant were Kristine Mae Baluzo, Mark Lee Babaran, Christian Paolo Magsino, Rochelle Lafrades and Robert Diala, who were among the 16 participants who presented their business improvement plans (BIPs) to a panel of judges. The grants were given under SEARCA's Young Agripreneurs Building Opportunities, Nurturing Growth (Yabong) Bootcamp, a three-month training program supported by East-West Seed Co… Read more