SEARCA

07/06/2026

Every year, on 7 June, World Food Safety Day is celebrated to raise awareness and mobilize action to prevent, detect, and manage foodborne risks and improve human health.

This year, the theme “From burden to solutions - safe food everywhere,” highlights how data on illness, its burden, and lost lives can guide action toward focused and cost-effective solutions. 🍽️

joins . Anchored in its 12th Five-Year Development Plan: , it plays a crucial role in achieving the Plate outcome (Enhancing food and nutrition security) by promoting:

🌱 Local food production through school and home gardening, reducing food safety risks associated with improper post-harvest mechanisms: https://www.searca.org/projects/research/school-plus-home-gardens
🍛 Institutional standards and policy-driven food safety by reviewing school meals in ASEAN and recommending effective school feeding policies: http://searca.org/projects/research/landscape-analysis-school-meals-programmes-implemented-asean-member-states
🌽 Science-backed biotechnology to develop crops that are resistant to pests and diseases, reducing farmers’ reliance on chemical pesticides and ensuring a steady, safe, and biosecure food supply: https://www.searca.org/projects/research/strengthening-enabling-environment-development-uptake-modern-agricultural-biotechnology-seed-project

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Photo credits: chatkarenstudio, Jay Castor, Arnold Mark Ian Cacanindin

05/06/2026

: Beyond the Harvest: People and Processes in the Agriculture Value Chain 🌱🧑🏻‍🌾🐟🚜

🥇 The Photo Contest 2025 first prize winner is Tran Van Tuy from Vietnam. His winning photograph captures the energy and cooperation behind the movement of produce from aquatic livelihoods to the next steps in the food chain.

Caption by photographer: Basket boats are transporting fish to shore from large fishing boats when they return from fishing.

Congratulations again, Tran Van Tuy! 🇻🇳

To visit the online gallery of winners and finalists, go to https://photocontest.searca.org/2025.

05/06/2026

𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗔𝗝𝗔𝗗 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗧 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗟𝗘
📚 Economic Implications of Agri-met Advisory Services: A Case Study of Farmer Decision-Making in Haryana by Madhuri

Access it here: https://doi.org/10.37801/ajad2026.23.1.p2

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Peer-reviewed articles in AJAD can be accessed ahead of a full published issue. This way, new knowledge will reach you at the earliest time possible.



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Photo by: RonFullHD and Poltu Shyamal

05/06/2026

We observe World Environment Day every 5 June as a reminder of our collective duty to care for the environment. This important day has grown into the largest global platform for environmental public outreach, observed by millions worldwide.

focuses on climate change! The UN Environment Programme calls on everyone to step in, go further, and help steer a world already in motion. The question is no longer whether change is coming, but how people will guide it and how fast. 🌦️

🌱 joins the call to step in . The Center champions climate-resilient and sustainable farming systems as a key priority of its 12th Five-Year Development Plan ( ), and implements initiatives to achieve the Plate outcome (Enhance the resilience of agricultural systems).

Learn about SEARCA’s initiatives aimed at promoting sustainable, climate-smart, and regenerative agriculture:
🌾 Rice Straw Bioenergy Hub (RSBH): https://www.searca.org/rsbh-project
🐟 ASEAN Partnership for Sustainable Aquaculture (AquASEAN): https://www.searca.org/projects/research/asean-partnership-sustainable-aquaculture
🌳 Identification and Analysis of Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry in the ASEAN Region (LULUCF): https://www.searca.org/projects/research/identification-analysis-land-use-change-forestry-asean-region
📚 Postgraduate Micro-Credential on Food Security and Climate Change: https://pmcfscc.searca.org/

🌦️ funded Thailand’s FAHFON SENSE, smart weather, dust, and carbon stations that equip growers with vital information to adapt to changing conditions: https://bit.ly/GRAINS-TH_FahfonSense

☔️ Catch SEARCA Youth in Agri Talk Show Episode 4 - Climate Detectives: The Case of the Changing Climate and discover how the youth can help protect our planet and support our farmers: https://bit.ly/YATS4-ClimateDetectives


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Photo credit: Phiraphong

04/06/2026

As marks its 60th anniversary, join us in celebrating six decades of scholarship, research, and service for agricultural and rural development in Southeast Asia.

𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐀 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐧𝐢 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐒𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐀𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬
📅 19–20 October 2026
📍 SEARCA Headquarters, UPLB Campus, College, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines

The conference is open to scholars, alumni, partners, researchers, practitioners, students, and the wider public who are interested in advancing sustainable agricultural transformation through the four key pathways of SEARCA’s agenda:

💰 Pocket – sustaining farmers’ income through livelihoods, value chains, and agricultural enterprises
🍽️ Plate – sustaining food security and nutrition through food systems and agricultural innovation
🌎 Place – sustaining resilient agricultural landscapes, fisheries, and production systems
👨‍🌾 People – sustaining empowered farmers, institutions, and innovation ecosystems

Registration and Abstract submission: https://forms.gle/T59yLhPu6WCR6WKC6
Submission deadline: 3 July 2026

For inquiries, contact [email protected].

04/06/2026

SEARCA @ AgriTechnica Asia 2026

Dr. Emil John Cabrera, Program Head of ’s Emerging Innovation for Growth Department, highlighted the important role of startups in mainstreaming and adopting agri-technologies during the Partners’ Panel Discussion: Open innovation across borders driving start-up success, at , held on 20-22 May 2026.

04/06/2026

📰 | Journal Online

The vital yet often unseen work that brings food from farms and waters to tables took center stage in the winning entries of the 19th Photo Contest, themed “Beyond the Harvest: People and Processes in the Agriculture Value Chain.”

Launched in September 2025, the annual SEARCA competition invited photographers from across Southeast Asia to capture the people, practices, and enterprises that sustain the agriculture value chain beyond production. These include postharvest handling, food processing, transport to markets, trade, entrepreneurship, and consumer connections.

The vital yet often unseen work that brings food from farms and waters to tables took center stage in the winning entries of the 19th SEARCA Photo Contest,

04/06/2026

participated in the "Borderless Pathways: Global Scholarships and Exchanges for Educators" held on 29 May 2026 at SEAMEO INNOTECH.

Organized by DepEd Philippines, the event brought together DepEd alumni, international partners, and key stakeholders to serve as a one-stop platform connecting educators with scholarship and exchange opportunities worldwide.

Part of the program included a session for DepEd's partner organizations to deliver their respective scholarship pitches. SEARCA presented its suite of scholarship and grant opportunities designed to build capacities in agricultural and rural development across Southeast Asia.

QUEZON CITY, Philippines—The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) participated in the "Borderless Pathways: Global Scholarships and Exchanges for Educators" held on 29 May 2026 at SEAMEO (INNOTECH). Organized by the Philippine Department o...

03/06/2026

📰 | The Manila Times

and the University of the Philippines Visayas created a new chapter in their 40-year relationship through a virtual signing of an agreement expanding their cooperation.

Signed on May 29, 2026, the agreement establishes a framework for cooperation in academic, educational, and research initiatives to drive sustainable innovation in agriculture and fisheries across Southeast Asia.

THE Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) and the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) created a new chapter in their 40-year relationship through a virtual signing of an agreement expanding their cooperation.

03/06/2026

𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗔𝗝𝗔𝗗 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗧 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗟𝗘
📚 Flying LoRaWAN IoT Gateway for Oil Palm Plantation Monitoring by Abd Aziz, Samsuzana, Idrus Salimi Ismail, Nurul Adilah Abdul Latiff, and Fakhrul Zaman Rokhani
Access it here: https://doi.org/10.37801/ajad2026.23.1.p1

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Peer-reviewed articles in AJAD can be accessed ahead of a full published issue. This way, new knowledge will reach you at the earliest time possible.


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Photo by: Patar Jonathan Sipahutar and Carlo Gusto Dacumos