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.
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, demographic shifts and malnutrition, emphasizing the need for regional initiatives to complement global efforts in achieving sustainable development goals.
Senior officer Pedcris Orencio, who represented Pham Quang Minh, head of the Food, Agriculture and Forestry Division of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) secretariat, underscored the importance of research and development (R&D) to address challenges and help formulate recommendations for a resilient agriculture sector.
“Collaborative efforts will help R&D outputs align with the Asean economic community’s vision for SEA to be a key player in integrated global food systems,” Orencio said.
Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University Prof. Paul Teng presented comprehensively the role of research, development and extension in agricultural transformation and the need for regional collaboration to address pressing issues impacting the SEA agriculture landscape.
RTLD program head Gerlie Tatlonghari gave an outline of the consortium’s framework, highlighting research, policy development, knowledge management, capacity building and partnerships.
Tatlonghari said Cadre is poised as a regional think tank and that “cross-sectoral collaboration is to provide research and extension support to address pressing and critical issues faced by the SEA agriculture sector.”
Panel discussions
Facilitating a panel discussion on the current research gaps and priorities in the SEA agricultural sector was Roehlano Briones, Philippine Institute for Development Studies senior research fellow.
Panelists were Orencio of the Asean Secretariat (government perspectives); Kamaleswaran Jayarajah of the Sameo secretariat (academe); Tan Siang Hee of CropLife Asia (industry insights); and Ma. Estrella Penunia from the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (farmers and civil society lens).
Among the development partners were Bo Zhou of the United Nations-Food and Agriculture Organization, and Chrissa Marey Borja of Grow Asia, while Jongsoo Shin from the International Rice Research Institute and Delphine Larrousse from the World Vegetable Center represented research organizations.
The plenary discussion was followed by the first workshop focusing on identifying critical research gaps and priority issues in the region’s agriculture sector.
With topics within the themes of crop improvement, crop and crop residue management, digital agriculture, regenerative production systems, human capital development and nutrition, the second workshop explored the theory of change and impact pathways for key research.
The third workshop defined Cadre’s activities and programs, aligning them with the consortium’s vision and mission. It emphasized five key components: collaborative research; policy and program development; knowledge management; capacity building; and technical assistance and partnerships.
Nur moderated the second panel discussion by representatives from the sectors that will play a crucial role in Cadre, which revolved around Cadre’s operational methods and strategies, potential collaborations and the key roles of members to ensure resource transparency, accountability and consortium sustainability.
Together with the Searca director, the discussants were Tin Htut, deputy minister of Myanmar’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation; Warapa Mahakarnchanakul, director of Kasetsart University’s Research and Development Institute; Ajay Kohli, deputy director general for research, International Rice Research Institute; Roland Treitler, project director of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH; and Rolf Christian Becker, global head of partnerships-academic institutions at Bayer.
Expressing optimism about future partnerships and the creation of the consortium through Cadre, Gregorio underscored the importance of multi-stakeholder commitment and collaboration, highlighting its pivotal, transformative role toward a resilient, inclusive and sustainable agriculture sector in Southeast Asia.
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