Future agri-leaders gain insights into Searca

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna — Forty-two graduates preparing for the Licensure Examination for Agriculturists gained firsthand exposure to the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture’s (Searca) education, research and innovation initiatives during a learning visit on Sept. 11, 2026.

The examinees are enrolled at Upstep Review Center (URC), a Los Baños-based review center established in 2019 to improve national board passing rates and prepare future frontline agricultural professionals for careers across Philippine industries.

Accompanied by staff Joy Aira Bunan, Christine Joy Quinto and Kyle Adaraya, the group was the second URC cohort Searca hosted from state and private universities in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

Searca Partnerships Unit head Sharon Malaiba presented an overview of the center’s mandates, core programs and flagship initiatives, emphasizing that Searca aims to elevate the welfare and quality of life of agricultural families in Southeast Asia by building human and institutional capacities.

For the emerging leaders, the briefing centered on three core programs that define Searca’s work: Education cultivates future agricultural leadership, Research informs policy dialogue, and Innovation connects farmers with modern technologies and market systems.

Malaiba said three programs are operationalized under Searca’s 12th Five-Year Development Plan, Sustainable Transformation of Agricultural Systems through Innovation in Southeast Asia, or Sustain Southeast Asia, which organizes the center’s work around four outcomes — the 4Ps: Pocket, Plate, Place and People.

For the students, insights into Pocket, which refers to income, included value chain roadmaps that link smallholders to viable markets, seed grants through the Grants for Research toward Agricultural Innovative Solutions program to develop promising farm technologies, and the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security Enhancement Acceleration Program that mentors youth-led, eco-friendly agribusinesses.

Insights into Plate, which covers food security and nutrition, included the School-Plus-Home Gardens program, regional analyses of school meal policies, and the initiative on Measuring the Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet in Cambodia, Nepal, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, to help governments make nutritious food more accessible to vulnerable families.

Regional projects on trade and crop biotechnology were also discussed.

For Place, which focuses on resilience of agricultural environments, Malaiba outlined initiatives promoting sustainable and climate-resilient systems.

These include the Rice Straw Bioenergy Hub, which converts agricultural waste into clean energy and biochar; the Asean Partnership for Sustainable Aquaculture, an eco-friendly aquaculture initiative; the Identification and Analysis of Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry in the Asean Region, which will provide data maps to track deforestation and carbon emissions; and the Africa, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean program that seeks to improve cooperation among national and local stakeholders while harmonizing One Health strategies on disease prevention and early response.

For People, which centers on empowering the next generation of leaders, institutions and communities, she highlighted graduate scholarships, flexible micro-credentials on food security and climate change, hands-on technology upskilling in agri-robotics, and executive leadership training aimed at modernizing regional higher education institutions and public agencies.

Malaiba also discussed how Searca advances its Science-Policy-Practice framework through flagship programs.

These include the Seed Fund for Research and Training, which supports promising studies to attract larger long-term funding; the Consortium for Agricultural Policy Research Initiatives, which provides evidence-based policy advice and facilitates joint research; the Southeast Asia Agricultural Outlook Series, which tracks regional agricultural trends and identifies practical responses; and the proposed Asean Food Policy Framework, which seeks to transform regional food systems through private sector leadership and innovation.

During the open forum, the reviewees expressed strong interest in Searca’s scholarship offerings.

Searca said it continues to welcome emerging agricultural leaders who will help address complex challenges in agriculture and contribute to food security and rural development across the Philippines and Southeast Asia.