Searca pushes agri research consortium

THE Philippine-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) is spearheading the effort to establish an agricultural research consortium with the convening of more than 100 stakeholders from Southeast Asia (SEA) at the center's headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna.

The objective of the Regional Stakeholders Consultation Workshop held at Searca in June was to discuss the establishment of a regional research consortium through the Consortium for Agricultural Development, Research and Extension in Southeast Asia (Cadre).

According to Searca, Cadre is a network of high-caliber, like-minded institutions with a unified goal of driving agricultural transformation toward sustainable and inclusive development in SEA.

Photo shows the participants of the Regional Stakeholders Consultation Workshop held last June at the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

The participants represented government, academe, industry and private sectors, farmers and civil society organizations, research institutions and development partners.

Searca Director Glenn Gregorio said the workshop gathered inputs and recommendations from Cadre's potential members and partners, focusing on «establishing its operational strategies and activities, identifying its overall research agenda and developing its theory of change and impact pathways.»

During the event, Nur Azura Binti Adam, Searca deputy director for programs, highlighted Cadre's commitment to research and knowledge extension and reiterated the workshop's objectives.

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Presenting an overview of the consultation workshop, its purpose and the intended outputs needed to prepare the consortium for its pilot operations was Cadre's lead coordinator Bernice Anne de Torres, also the Searca's program specialist of Research and Thought Leadership Department (RTLD).

Datuk Habibah Abdul Rahim, director of the Southeast Asia Ministers of Education Organization secretariat, emphasized the critical role of agriculture in poverty alleviation and food security.

Habibah also cited the challenges of climate change,