2 Pinoys, 7 others get study grants

MANILA, Philippines - Two Filipinos and seven other Southeast Asians have been awarded grants by a regional center to enable them to start their research projects.

The funding support was provided by the Los Baños-based, government-hosted Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization-Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEAMEO SEARCA) through its Seed Fund for Research and Training (SFRT).

SEARCA, headed by Director Gil C. Saguiguit Jr., is one of the 19 “centers of excellence” of SEAMEO, an intergovernment treaty body founded in 1965 to foster cooperation among Southeast Asian nations in the fields of education, science, and culture.

The new Filipino SEARCA-SFRT grantees are Dr. Januel Floresca of the Isabela State University (ISU) and Dr. Agnes Banzon of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB).

Floresca’s research project is titled “Climate Change Vulnerability Mapping and Geo-Spatial Analysis in Cagayan River Basin, Philippines” while that of Dr. Banzon is “Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in the Philippines: Status, Issues, and Policy Strategies”.

The other SFRT recipients in 2010-2011 are from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Other SEAMEO member-countries are Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Timor-Leste.

The SFRT grants were presented to the awardees or representatives at a program last Nov. 19 marking the celebration of SEARCA’s 44th anniversary at its office building on the UPLB  campus.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro (anniversary keynote speaker), Director Saguiguit, and UPLB Chancellor Luis Rey Velasco handed the grants to the awardees.

Theme of this year’s anniversary celebration was “Enhancing Partnerships in Education, Research, and Knowledge Management Towards Food Security in Southeast Asia.”

The SFRT is a competitive grant aimed at assisting selected promising but fund-strapped research projects of nationals of SEAMEO countries to enable them to carry out research and training initiatives supportive of agricultural and rural development in Southeast Asia. Each grant is up to $15,000.

SEARCA launched the SFRT program in 2005. To date, 18 Filipinos and 32 nationals of SEAMEO countries have been awarded support funds.