Searca, BAR to strengthen agri innovation system
The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) and the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) are planning to further strengthen the enabling environment for agricultural innovation system and entrepreneurship in the country.
This was discussed by Glenn Gregorio, Searca director and Nicomedes Eleazar, BAR director, during their meeting on Feb. 18, 2020 at the Searca headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna.
Also present at the meeting were Searca Deputy Director Joselito Florendo; Maria Cristeta Cuaresma, program head for graduate education and institutional development; Pedcris Orencio, program head for research and development; Romeo Labios, technical consultant for partnerships; Corinta Guerta, technical advisor to the director; Rico Ancog, technical consultant for project development and technical services (PDTS); and Imelda Batangantang, program specialist at PDTS.
BAR has been a strong partner of Searca in research for development (R4D) projects in agriculture and fisheries in the Philippines since 1989. They have implemented 35 R4D projects and jointly published 18 books, policy briefs, manuals, and other technical publications.
During their meeting, Gregorio shared with Eleazar the keystones of Searca’s 11th Five-Year Plan starting 2020. A major area of synergism between the current priorities of Searca and BAR can be the strengthening the capacity of farmers and farmers’ organizations in production costs reduction, farm production efficiency, and increasing their capacity to actively engage in value-adding activities.
Eleazar also discussed the Technology Business Incubation program of BAR. He also visited the completed wing of the Southeast Asian AgriMuseum and Learning Center on Agricultural and Rural Development that was funded by BAR through its Research Facilities Development Grant Program.
Searca is fine-tuning the design of earning facility into a Southeast Asian hub for agricultural research innovations for the next generation.
THE TIMES