Searca marks 40th anniversary

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna – Sen. Edgardo J. Angara will be the keynote speaker at a program marking the celebration of the 40th anniversary of a Southeast Asian Center based here on Nov. 27.

Angara, a former Agriculture Secretary and University of the Philippines (UP) president, will talk on the anniversary theme "Science and Education for Agriculture and Development" of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).

Hosted by the government on the UP Los Baños campus, SEARCA is one of the 15 "centers of excellence" of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), an intergovernment body founded in 1965 to foster cooperation among Southeast Asian nations in the fields of education, science, and culture.

Since last July 1, several activities have been launched to culminate at the anniversary program on Nov. 27, which will be held at the SEARCA office.

One is the launch of new SEARCA publications, among them a book titled Securing Rice, Reducing Poverty: Challenges and Policy Directions.

The book was co-published by SEARCA, the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR), and DA-Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).

Edited by SEARCA director Dr. Arsenio M. Balisacan and PhilRice executive director Leocadio S. Sebastian, the volume recommends, among other things, policy reforms in terms of intensified public investment in irrigaton, R&D, and extension in agriculture, particularly rice.  – Rudy A. Fernandez