Five faculty members of the university participated in two short-term courses co-sponsored by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and its partner universities during the third quarter of the year.

Four of them completed the International Summer Course Program on Agriculture and Ecosystem Resilience to Environmental Disaster Toward Regional Sustainability on September 11 to 20 which was hosted by the IPB University in Bogor, Indonesia.

Engr. Eliza E. Camaso (College of Engineering), Engr. Lea S. Caguiat (Institute for Climate Change and Environmental Management), Mr. Daryl A. Juganas (Institute for Climate Change and Environmental Management), and Jarius Jesse M. Tubal (College of Agriculture) finished the program which included a combination of lectures about environmental conservation and management; GIS and remote-sensing and the biophysical and socio-cultural dimensions of climate change adaptation as well as on-site observation and evaluation of different types of agro-ecosystems.

The team also got a chance to present their research projects: “Adaptation Strategies for Resiliency and Disaster Risk Management in Selected Coastal Municipalities of Zambales, Philippines” (Mr. Juganas), “Spatial and temporal trend analysis of reference evapotranspiration in Central Luzon, Philippines” (Engr. Caguiat), “Vulnerability Assessment of Agricultural Resources in Santa Rosa, Nueva Ecija, Philippines” (Engr. Camaso) and “Impacts of Climate Change on the Tilapia Value Chain from Cage Culture in Luzon, Philippines” (Mr. Tubal). Engr. Lea Caguiat won the best poster award while Mr. Tubal bagged the second best oral presenter.

The participation of the four faculty members were made possible through the Leveling-Up Philippine Higher Education Institutions in Agriculture, Fisheries, and Natural Resources (LevelUPHEI AFAR) Project under the International Continuing Professional Education (ICPE) Grants of CHED.

In the previous month, Ms. Jane Camille A. Crisostomo of the College of Agriculture flew to Putrajaya, Malaysia to attend the three-day training workshop on halal slaughtering and certification on August 23-25, 2022.

The training workshop co-sponsored by SEARCA and the Universiti Putra Malaysia – Halal Products Research Institute aims to further enhance the capacities of Halal professionals, practitioners, policymakers, and other key players and stakeholders on Halal slaughtering and certification to support the development of the Halal industry in their respective countries and the ASEAN region.

Ms. Crisostomo’s participation was made possible with the SEARCA University Consortium Faculty Grant.