Dr. Gil Saguiguit Jr. assumed the leadership of Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) as its ninth director, succeeding Dr. Arsenio Balisacan who completed his second three-year term on July 13.

At a simple farewell program tendered by the center on July 13, Dr. Balisacan delivered his exit report, which highlighted the progress made by Searca toward the direction of mainstreaming agriculture in the development agenda.

Starting with the challenges of making reforms—some innocuous, others radical—in the center in July 2003 following the results of a comprehensive program and financial review conducted by the Searca governing board, Dr. Balisacan presented the accomplishments of the center’s core programs, namely: Graduate Scholarship, Research and Development and Knowledge Management.

Tracking the center’s progress from fiscal year 2001/2002 to fiscal year 2008/2009, his report showed an increasing performance trend across the core programs and activities of the center.

Dr. Balisacan said he hoped what would be appreciated is that “during our term, we managed to etch Searca’s place in the global community of influential development institutions. Our international conferences and meetings, including publications, albeit not many, have helped cement Searca’s place in this community,” he added.

Dr. Balisacan left the center with a healthy financial state also. Noting the achievements notched by Searca in the past six years, Mr. K. Kesavapany, director of Singapore’s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, complimented Dr. Balisacan on “the outstanding leadership you have provided to Searca. Under your charge, the institution has gained stature in the academic world.”

Likewise, Dr. Kejiro Otsuka, former chairman of the board of trustees of the International Rice Research Institute and currently the president of the International Association of Agricultural Economists, lauded Dr. Balisacan’s efforts in leading Searca, saying, “You did a superb job.  I really respect your great leadership.”

Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, former director general of the International Rice Research Institute, said Dr. Balisacan can “look back with pride and satisfaction on your monumental contributions to the development of Searca.”

Having led the crafting of two five-year plans of the center, Dr. Balisacan urged Searca to gear up as it faces additional challenges brought about by the slow recovery of the global economy; the problems posed by climate change, particularly to the vulnerable sectors, among them the agriculture and rural sector; the economic transformation of Southeast Asian countries; and the trend toward integration internationally and intranationally.

He said Searca should continue to ensure that its programs and activities are value-adding and address social objectives, particularly poverty reduction and food security, and that the center should deepen its “presence and relevance in addressing agricultural and rural development issues of regional significance.”

Dr. Saguiguit’s experience on Searca operations, programs

Dr. Saguiguit carries with him three decades of experience and institutional memory on Searca operations and programs. He began his career at Searca as a student assistant of the Searca-Harvard 928-B Corn Commodity Systems project in 1974. 

He rose through the ranks, occupying various technical and administrative positions in the center. Most of his career in the center has been spent developing and implementing collaborations in research and development with foreign and international partners and donors. 

Saguiguit was appointed head of the Environment and Rural Development Unit in 1991, manager of the Research and Development Office in 1995, and deputy director for administration in 2002, a position he held until his recent selection as Searca director.

He has also received recognition and awards for his management and leadership of agricultural development projects.

Currently, he is a member of the National Technical Panel on Agricultural Education of the Commission on Higher Education of the Philippines, and has served on numerous advisory, management and implementation bodies of development programs in the Philippines and other multicountry programs in Southeast Asia.

As deputy director for administration of Searca, Dr. Saguiguit was at the forefront of efforts to improve the center’s operations, including the computerization of its financial management system, as well as maintenance and renovation of Searca’s physical structures.

It was also during his watch as deputy that University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) renewed its agreement with Searca to host the center for another 25 years. Dr. Saguiguit has been serving as the center’s treasurer for the past six years and has contributed to Searca’s financial stability.

Dr. Saguiguit holds a doctorate in Rural Economics from the University of Montpellier in France, obtained through a French government scholarship, and MS and BS degrees in agricultural economics and agriculture, respectively, from UPLB. He obtained his Masters’ degree under a scholarship provided by the Fellowship in the Region Program of the Netherlands government.

Dr. Saguiguit is the only son and namesake of the late Dr. Gil Saguiguit Sr., renowned professor of agricultural education, institution builder and one of the founding fathers of Searca.

Dr. Balisacan, Asia’s leading development economist

A leading development economist in Asia, with particularly research interests on poverty, inequality, agricultural and regional development, sustainable development, and political economy of policy reforms, Dr. Balisacan is a professor at the School of Economics of the University of the Philippines, Diliman.

He is also currently serving in various technical and policy advisory councils, including those of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the Philippine Congress Commission on Science & Technology and Engineering. He is also a member of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) of the Philippines, and chairman of the NAST Task Force on Climate Change. Moreover, he is the president-elect of the Asian Society of Agricultural Economists.

Prior to his Searca directorship, Dr. Balisacan served as agriculture undersecretary in the Philippine government, chairman of the board of directors of the National Agribusiness Corp., and member of the board of directors of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp.

He has also served as adviser and expert in poverty and rural development issues to government chief executives and legislators and to bilateral and multilateral development institutions, including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and various United Nations agencies.

Dr. Balisacan is well-published, with at least seven books and more than 100 journal articles and book chapters to his name. His more recent book titles include The Dynamics of Regional Development: The Philippines in East Asia (Edward Elgar, UK, with H. Hill): Reasserting the Rural Development Agenda: Lessons Learned and Emerging Challenges in Asia (Iseas, Singapore, and Searca, with N. Fuwa); and The Philippine Economy: Development, Policies, and Challenges (Oxford University Press, with H. Hill).

He is the founding editor of the Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development, Searca’s international refereed journal.

Dr. Balisacan holds a PhD (Economics) from the University of Hawaii; a Master’s degree (Agricultural Economics) from the University of the Philippines, Los Baños (obtained through a full graduate scholarship from Searca); and a bachelor’s degree (Agriculture, magna cum laude) from the Mariano Marcos State University, Philippines.