LOS BAÑOS, Philippines — The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) convened scholars, alumni, researchers, educators, and development partners on 19–20 October 2026 at its headquarters in Los Baños, Philippines, to explore how research, education, and public service can drive agricultural transformation, improve rural livelihoods, and strengthen food security across the region. Serving as the launch of SEARCA’s 60th anniversary celebration, the 2026 Conference on SUSTAINing Southeast Asia’s Agricultural Futures brought together regional experts and featured keynote addresses, plenary messages, six parallel sessions, and two special sessions dedicated to educational innovation and micro-credentials.
In her welcome remarks, SEARCA Center Director Dr. Mercedita Sombilla commended the scholars and alumni whose work has embedded the Center’s mission across public policy, higher education, research, and rural communities, affirming that investing in education serves as an investment in the region’s future. Datuk Dr. Habibah Abdul Rahim, Director of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Secretariat, stressed that the genuine measure of a scholarship lies in the difference recipients make in the lives of others rather than the degree itself, calling for solutions that bridge scientific innovation, inclusive policy, and local wisdom. Prof. Dr. Ir. Asdi Agustar, President of the Regional SEARCA Alumni Association (RSAA), further highlighted the indispensable role of people, social institutions, and equity in sustaining agriculture.
Keynote presentations addressed how academic institutions can accelerate agricultural transformation through research, collaboration, and flexible learning models. Dr. Daniel Weary of the University of British Columbia demonstrated through animal welfare research that scientific evidence alone does not automatically alter farming practices, urging researchers to work directly with farmers to understand constraints and challenging universities to equip leaders with collaborative skills. Addressing flexible education, Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Saripan, Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Quality Assurance at the Malaysian Qualifications Agency, discussed Malaysia’s experience with micro-credentials, detailing how robust quality assurance allows shorter learning units to be combined toward formal qualifications to widen higher education access and professional development opportunities.
The conference’s six parallel sessions examined resilient smallholder enterprises, crop innovation, climate adaptation, social inclusion, biodiversity, and healthy food systems, aligning with the four strategic outcomes of SEARCA’s SUSTAIN Southeast Asia agenda: higher farmers’ incomes (Pocket), improved food security and nutrition (Plate), resilient agricultural systems (Place), and empowered stakeholders and institutions (People). Research presentations explored smallholder participation in Vietnam’s beef cattle supply chains, coffee farm mechanization in Cavite, fishway implementation in Lao PDR, and climate risks, financial incentives, and watershed dynamics in Malaysian and Indonesian rice systems. Additional studies covered women’s empowerment in Indonesian agriculture, youth participation in organic agripreneurship in Benguet, environmental DNA for fisheries monitoring, wild food security resources in Ilocos Sur, rapid food-safety testing technologies, and livestock genetic conservation. In partnership with the European Union co-funded Postgraduate Micro-credentials for Food Security and Climate Change project under the Erasmus+ program, two special sessions examined regional collaboration on flexible, accessible learning pathways tailored to climate and food security challenges.
Opening the second day, Dr. Jose Camacho, Jr., Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and Country Representative of the Philippines to the SEARCA Governing Board, emphasized the longstanding SEARCA-UPLB partnership in training agricultural leaders to address transboundary climate and food security challenges. The second day focused on policy action and community development, featuring three recipients of the 2026 Outstanding SEARCA Scholarship Alumni (OSSA) Awards: Dr. Asikin Yoeu, Cambodia’s Undersecretary of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; Dr. Weerapon Thongma, President of Maejo University in Thailand; and Dr. Arsenio M. Balisacan, Secretary of the Philippines’ Department of Economy, Planning and Development, who were formally honored later that afternoon. Dr. Yoeu urged that policy must extend beyond conference rooms through conservation agriculture and inclusive support for smallholders and women, while Dr. Thongma emphasized that genuine development requires integrating local voices and lived experiences. Dr. Balisacan identified five major challenges shaping the region’s agricultural future—climate change, geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, the energy transition, and expanding human opportunities—concluding that the agricultural future will take shape through the research undertaken, institutions strengthened, and opportunities created for others.
