Milestones
The Southeast Asia Regional Initiatives for Community Empowerment (SEARICE) is a regional non-government organization that promotes sustainable agri-food systems through agroecology, with emphasis on the conservation and development of agricultural biodiversity; and advocates for policies that recognize, support, strengthen, and institutionalize community initiatives on sustainable agri-food systems. It implements projects in partnership with national government agencies, civil society organizations, academic institutions, and local government units in Bhutan, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Timor Leste.
SEARICE is registered with the Philippines' Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a non-stock and non-profit organization based in the Philippines.
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SEARICE started as a “circle of friends” in 1977 among activists from Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. These activists initially shared experiences and supported each other in helping empower grassroots communities at a time when dictatorship and authoritarian regimes ruled the region. Eventually, SEARICE was registered as a non-government organization in 1981.
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In 2001 SEARICE established the Biodiversity Use and Conservation in Asia Programme (BUCAP). Through BUCAP, SEARICE shifted its focus towards enhancing farmers’ capacities in crop improvement. At the same time, SEARICE promoted extension service support and plant breeding programs as an important step towards securing government acknowledgment of farmers’ work in the context of national agricultural plans and programs.
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In 2008, SEARICE implemented the Participatory Plant Breeding Mainstreaming (PBBM) Programme. Building on the early indicators of success of CBDC-BUCAP, the PBBM Programme was initiated by SEARICE to generate more active support from public research institutions and to fast-track the integration of participatory plant breeding in national agricultural policies and programs. A parallel program on policy advocacy that was set up by SEARICE alongside CBDC-BUCAP was sustained to reinforce the PBBM Programme.
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In 1994 SEARICE became part of a group of development research institutions that set up the Community Biodiversity Development and Conservation (CBDC) Programme. This program emphasized the conservation of plant genetic resources (PGRs) in addressing the negative impact of the Green Revolution.
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In 2005 CBDC and BUCAP were merged into one program and became known as CBDC-BUCAP. This program adopted a convergent framework of strengthening the capacities of both farmers and State research and extension institutions in plant genetic resource (PGR) conservation, development and use. CBDC-BUCAP also emphasized the linking with government, non-government organizations (NGOs) and academic institutions in order to mainstream PGR conservation, development and use in agricultural systems.
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In 2013, SEARICE started to implement the program, Building Resilient Community Managed Seed Systems towards Climate Change Adaptation, which aimed to build the capacities of small farmers to manage the genetic diversity of rice. The two-year program made significant contributions towards the technical empowerment of farmers in 55 project communities in seven provinces in Cambodia and in nine provinces in the Philippines.
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Throughout SEARICE's recent history, all of its work on promoting small farmer leadership of the conservation, development and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture has been framed by SEARICE's advocacy for agroecology and farmers' rights.