Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture

Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture
Abbreviation	SEARCA
Motto	"Science and Education for Agriculture and Development"
Formation	27 November 1966
Type	Non-profit research and training center
Purpose/focus	Research and Training
Headquarters	Los Baños, Laguna
Location	Philippines
Region served	Southeast Asia
Director	Dr. Gil C. Saguiguit, Jr.
Main organ	Governing Board
Parent organization	Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization(SEAMEO)
Website	www.searca.org

SEARCA (acronym for Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture) is one of the 20 centers of excellence of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO). SEAMEO has 11 member countries: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia,Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam.

Established in 1966, SEARCA is hosted by the Government of the Philippines on the campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baños in Laguna, Philippines.

SEARCA is mandated to: (1) provide nationals of SEAMEO member-countries with high quality graduate education and training in agriculture and rural development; (2) promote, undertake, and coordinate research programs related to the needs and problems of the Southeast Asian region; and (3) disseminate findings of agricultural research and experimentation.

In carrying out its Ninth Five-Year Plan, covering the period July 2009-June 2014, SEARCA envisions to meet contemporary development challenges and provide leadership in enabling an environment for sustainable agricultural and rural development (ARD) in Southeast Asia. It helps equip key actors and organizations in ARD to address contemporary issues and challenges that would ultimately redound to a robust yet sustainable agricultural economy, made manifest in the improved livelihoods and well being of agricultural and rural communities living in harmony with their ecosystems.

SEARCA is committed to building the capacities of Southeast Asian institutions working toward agricultural and rural development through graduate scholarship, research and development, and knowledge management. As such, these three areas also comprise its core programs.

Graduate Scholarship

SEARCA’s main mandate is to assist in producing high quality human resources in agriculture for the SEAMEO region to strengthen their institutions that would propel regional development. Through its graduate scholarship program, SEARCA has been able to produce so far more than 1,300 such professionals.

SEARCA’s Graduate Scholarship Program continues to develop a strong cadre of agriculture professionals in the region through more MS and PhD scholarships and grants.

Research and Development

Agriculture and rural development, which have grown more dynamic and have evolved in unpredictable ways over the years, continue to be basic instruments for poverty reduction and food security, particularly in Southeast Asia. It is therefore imperative that investments in knowledge generation through innovative scientific research remain at par with these changes and lead to improvement in the well-being of rural societies. SEARCA spearheads research initiatives toward articulating policy directions that would lead to a highly viable agriculture sector while addressing pressing and emergent environmental concerns of regional importance and scope. Rather than focusing solely on technical aspects of various agriculture issues, SEARCA’s research looks at policy and institutional concerns that can serve to offer a holistic perspective of the subject matter.

Knowledge Management

Excellence in leadership and governance in ARD requires fostering and supporting a learning culture in the region that applies science and research-based analyses, which in turn makes the creation of new knowledge and wisdom possible. SEARCA’s Knowledge Management Program promotes a learning culture, knowledge use, and knowledge creation among decision-makers, leaders, scholars, researchers, and key actors in agriculture and rural development through learning forums, training, seminars, virtual knowledge centers, a semi-annual journal, and other publications and electronic materials to be made available online.

SEARCA focuses on influencing leaders and centers of excellence in Southeast Asia to generate a positive impact on agricultural and rural development (ARD) in the region. These key actors and organizations can multiply any value added by their participation in the Center’s programs and activities through their decisions as well as the policies and programs in academe and development that they promote and carry out in their respective countries.

History

November 1965

The education ministers of Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam, together with a representative from the United States Government, met to explore possible venues for regional cooperation in education, science, and culture.

The historic meeting paved the way to the formation of an interim Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Secretariat (SEAMES) for the purpose of drawing up a “Discussion Paper” which detailed suggested priority projects for the region. The favorable responses and comments on the paper enabled SEAMES to prepare skeletal draft proposals for regional cooperation in education, of which the idea of instituting a Center for graduate study and research in agriculture was third in the list.

Having established an impressive reputation in the field of agricultural education, the then University of the Philippines College of Agriculture (UPCA) was seriously considered to be the ideal site. Dr. Dioscoro L. Umali, then Dean of UPCA, wasted no time as he immediately called a select few of his colleagues to draft a position paper which advocated utilizing the resources of existing institutions for the project, instead of starting a new institution from scratch.

July 1966

The Philippine delegation submitted the position paper to the SEAMES Technical Workshop held in Kuala, Lumpur, Malaysia. A Task Force was then formed to thoroughly evaluate the advisability of establishing an institute for graduate study and research in agriculture and the probable institution that could be home to such. In addition, the Task Force was tasked to recommend a framework for the operation of the proposed institute.

End result, the Task Force recommended UPCA to be the womb that gave birth to this institute of higher learning in agriculture.

November 1966

The Second Conference of the SEAMES held in Manila and Quezon City witnessed how the Philippine delegation stood steadfast in reworking on the report to propose and develop a plan for the merging of the proposed institute to the UPCA system.

With encouraging words from the then Education Secretary Carlos P. Romulo, Dr. G. F. Saguiguit, Dr. Dioscoro L. Umali, and Mr. Onofre D. Corpuz reworked the proposal. Their efforts paid off as the proposal was finally approved on 30 November 1966 and the institute was officially named the “Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture” (SEARCA).

Officials

Position
Director	Gil C. Saguiguit, Jr.
Deputy Director - Administration	Franciso F. Peñalba
Manager - Graduate Scholarship Department (GSD)	Editha C. Cedicol
Manager - Knowledge Management Department (KMD)	Maria Celeste H. Cadiz
Manager - Research and Development Department (RDD)	Mercedita A. Sombilla
Manager - Project Development and Management Department (PRODEV)	Bessie M. Burgos

Directors

	Duration
Dioscoro L. Umali	1967-1971
Jose D. Drilon	1972-1981
Joseph C. Madamba	1981-1983
Emil Q. Javier	1982-1983
Fernando A. Bernardo	1984-1987
Arturo A. Gomez	1988-1993
Percy E. Sajise	1994-1999
Ruben L. Villareal	2000-2002
Arsenio M. Balisacan	2003-2009
Gil C. Saguiguit, Jr.	2009-Present

References

• SEARCA History

External links

• SEARCA Home Page
• SEAMEO Website