DevCom interns explore SEARCA initiatives

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines—Nineteen development communication (DevCom) student interns from Zamboanga Peninsula Polytechnic State University (ZPPSU), Mindanao State University (MSU), and University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) visited the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on 15 July 2026 to learn how communication supports agricultural innovation, knowledge management, and sustainable rural development.

Organized in coordination with the UPLB College of Development Communication (CDC), the visit introduced the interns to SEARCA’s regional work at the intersection of communication, agricultural technology, and sustainable rural development.

Ms. Paula Muyco, Program Specialist at the Education and Collective Learning Department’s Graduate Scholarships and Institutional Development Unit, presented SEARCA’s human capital initiatives focused on leadership development and stronger academic institutions.

The interns learned about SEARCA’s scholarship programs, including full master’s and PhD scholarships, research grants, and joint scholarship programs with regional and international universities. They also heard about capacity-building opportunities for scholars, including micro-credential courses such as the YES! Your English Sidekick platform, scientific and policy writing workshops, and student mobility exchanges. Muyco also discussed the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC), a network that promotes interdisciplinary research and academic collaboration through graduate and faculty forums, summer schools, and collaborative degree pathways.

Ms. Rochella Lapitan, Program Specialist at SEARCA’s Research and Thought Leadership Department, highlighted the Center’s role in linking science, policy, and practice through its 4Ps framework: Pocket, Plate, Place, and People.

She highlighted policy and data initiatives such as the Consortium for Agricultural Policy Research Initiatives (CAPRI), a policy network spanning 11 member states, and the open-access Southeast Asian Agricultural Statistics Database (SAASD). She also shared research on smallholder market integration, school nutrition programs, land-use carbon dynamics, and climate-smart aquaculture.

Dr. Emil John Cabrera, Program Head of SEARCA’s Emerging Innovation for Growth Department, outlined programs to accelerate agricultural transformation across Southeast Asia through open innovation, agri-incubation, and technology transfer.

He highlighted Grants for Research towards Agricultural Innovative Solutions (GRAINS), a seed-funding initiative supporting field-level innovations such as AI-powered smart fish feeders in Malaysia, black soldier fly farming in the Philippines, and circular bioplastic development. He also discussed incubator partnerships with organizations such as Impact Hub that support startups in Lao PDR, the Philippines, Timor-Leste, and Cambodia, as well as smart farming efforts and the Rice Straw Bioenergy Hub (RSBH), which turns rice straw and other residues into bioenergy, biochar, compost, and mushroom substrates instead of burning them in open fields.

The visit also introduced the interns to SEARCA’s Knowledge Management Framework, which shows how research, field innovations, and academic findings are turned into accessible knowledge products.

Ms. Monalinda Cadiz, Program Specialist at the Knowledge Management Unit, explained the Center’s strategy of packaging complex research into audience-centered knowledge products, including policy briefs, toolkits, case stories, books, and articles in the Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development (AJAD). This process of knowledge harvesting and dissemination reaches audiences beyond academia and informs policy, practice, and innovation.

The presentations gave the DevCom interns from ZPPSU, MSU, and UPLB a holistic view of development communication in action.

The visit supported SEARCA’s 12th Five-Year Development Plan, Sustainable Transformation of Agricultural Systems through Innovation in Southeast Asia (SUSTAIN Southeast Asia), while strengthening youth participation and regional knowledge-sharing.