April 27, 2020
Agriculture experts are stirring interest in urban agriculture as a proposed “new normal” as an alternative food security solution in urban areas and will be the maiden subject at SEARCA’s digital brainstorming webinar.
To be held on Tuesday, April 28, 2020 at 10am via Zoom, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) envisions to widen citizens’ participation in solving an impending food security problem in urban areas.
The inaugural run of SEARCA’s SOLVE (SEARCA Online Learning and Virtual Engagement) tackles food security amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
As many parts of the world remain in lockdown due to COVID 19, SEARCA brings discussions direct to its stakeholders and the general public via Zoom: https://bit.ly/searcasolve or FB http://fb.com/seameosearca/.
“SOLVE IS SEARCA’s own way of channeling proven and tested solutions to a number of problems in agriculture sector and farm operations,” said SEARCA Director Glenn B. Gregorio
“Solutions to these problems actually abound so we are offering SEARCA as a gateway for these information to be made more accessible to farmers, farming families, and farmer organizations.”
Dr. William T. Dar, Agriculture secretary, will elaborate on the “Plant, Plant, Plant” program as an extensive food problem solution even in farflung rural areas. .
To provide concrete examples of what can be done at the farm level, Garry A. Hidalgo, general manager of Farmers’ Factory, will share specific urban agriculture approaches like containerized and modular farming strategies.
The “new normal” brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has firmed up SEARCA’s resolve to embark on new modalities and use technology-mediated platforms of interactions to effectively deliver valuable services to its stakeholders– farmers and the public.
Gregorio himself will give a talk on “Rethinking food security, Sowing seeds of curiosity: What, Where and How for the Philippines and Southeast Asia.”
SOLVE will highlight concrete actions in the production, processing, marketing, retail, consumption of agricultural goods.
“SEARCA will use its SOLVE webinar series as a venue to expound on the importance of transformational change to systemically revitalize agricultural systems and strengthen food systems,” said Gregorio. Melody Mendoza Aguiba
Growth Features 