2 Filipinos, 6 other SE Asians get searca research grants

MANILA, Philippines - Two Filipinos and six other Southeast Asians have been awarded funding support by the Philippine government-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) to enable them to conduct research in support of agricultural and rural development.


Among the recipients of SEARCA’s Seed Fund for Research and Training (SFRT) are Forester Arsenio Ella, scientist III at the Department of Science and Technology-Forest Products Research and Development Institute (DOST-FPRDI) and Engr. Antonio Arcangel, chairman of the Ilocos-based BAPAMIN Farmers’ Cooperative.

 Ella, a noted wood anatomy expert, will conduct a study on “Enhancing the Adaptive Capacity of the Indigenous Peoples by Promoting Sustainable and Community-based Resin Tapping of Almaciga (Agathis philippinensis Warb) in selected Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) areas in Palawan and Sierra Madre, Aurora.”

Almaciga trees, which grow abundantly in both sites, produce high-quality resin exported as “Manila Copal” which is used in varnish and similar products.

 On the other hand, Arcangel’s research is on the “Commercialization of Sweet Sorghum for Bakery Products: Ensuring Sustainability of Climate Change Response at the Village Level.” 

Arcangel, a chemical engineer, has been developing food products from sweet sorghum, a protein-rich grain that could provide nutritional qualities to baked goods and serve as source of flour in lieu of or in addition to imported wheat flour. The project involves assisting farmers in producing sweet sorghum for flour and encouraging small bakers in rural areas to use sweet sorghum flour in their bakery products.

 The six other grantees are from Indonesia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam.

 Headed by Dr. Gil C. Saguiguit, Jr., SEARCA is mandated to provide capacity-building interventions to address the agricultural and rural development needs of Southeast Asia.

 The SFRT is a competitive grant provided by SEARCA to assist selected, promising but fund-limited research projects of Southeast Asian nationals. Each grant is up to $15,000.