The renowned Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) established in 1966 by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) announced in its website (www.searca.org) the 2014 winners of the prestigious SEARCA Regional Professorial Chair awards. Below is the complete press release:
SEARCA Regional Professorial Chair honors champions of sustainable agricultural and rural development
For their outstanding contribution to agricultural research and development, five outstanding Southeast Asian academicians have been conferred the SEARCA Regional Professorial Chair in April 2014. They are Dr. Orville L. Bondoc, Dr. Virginia C. Cuevas, and Dr. Dinah Pura T. Depositario, from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB); Dr. Victor B. Asio from the Visayas State University (VSU); and Dr. Mohd. Razi Ismail from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).
Dr. Bondoc, a Professor of Animal Breeding, has been awarded the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Professorial Chair in 2012 among his many accolades. His lecture will be on “Organic Livestock Farming and Breeding towards Food Security of Smallholder Farmers in the Tropics.”
Dr. Cuevas, the 2012 Hugh Greenwood Environmental Science Awardee is a Professor of Botany at UPLB. Her lecture is titled “Ecological Succession in Areas Covered by Mine Tailings in Mankayan, Benguet.”
Dr. Depositario is an Associate Professor at the Department of Agribusiness Management and Entrepreneurship. She has been a recipient of the 2011 UPLB Centennial Professorial Chair and CEM Outstanding Researcher in 2010. Her lecture will be on “Climate Change Adaptation Strategies of Philippine Agribusiness SMEs.”
Dr. Asio is the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Food Sciences and a Soil Science Professor at VSU. Recognized as one of VSU’s Outstanding Academicians, Dr. Asio will lecture on “Bio-physical Characteristics and Sustainable Management of Marginal Uplands in the Philippines.”
Dr. Razi is a Senior Professor and Deputy Director at UPM’s Institute of Tropical Agriculture. He specializes in Plant Eco-Physiology and will deliver a lecture on “Managing Plants under Climatic Stress: A Challenge for Food Security.”
The SEARCA Regional Professorial Chair, which started in 2011, was established to recognize exemplary Southeast Asian academics who have made significant contributions in the field of agriculture and related science. The award carries with it a USD 5,000 endowment.
As SEARCA gears up for a new strategic 5-year agenda, its Regional Professorial Chair Grant will now focus on outstanding university academicians in Southeast Asia who have championed inclusive and sustainable agricultural and rural development through their instruction, research, and extension activities in their country and in the region.
Source: www.searca.org
