SDG 2 – ZERO HUNGER

Programs to Support Food Sufficiency

Food Innovation Center

The Food Innovation Center (FIC) on the ISU Cauayan Campus is a food processing center with common service facilities for product development and packaging. It aims to add value to food products to become competitive and to transform the agriculture-based Cagayan Valley into a food processing haven to improve the region’s local food products to reach a sizeable share of the local, national, and international markets.

The center is a multi-agency collaborative undertaking of the DOST 02, ISU Cauayan and the Local Government (LGU) of Cauayan City. It aims to add value to food products to become competitive and to transform the agriculture-based Cagayan Valley into a food processing haven to improve the region’s local food products to reach a sizable share of the local, national, and international markets. It is committed to producing technologies and innovative quality food products that satisfy customers’ needs and services for the sustainable development of the food industry. It is meant to be a leading research and development center for standards and excellence in food innovation and technology that makes safe and high-quality food products for the country and the ASEAN region.

Partnerships with the following agencies have been made by the center: DA – Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR), DA – Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Phil. Cocoa Foundation, Dela Salle University, DA Region 02, DTI Region 02, LGUs, and NGOs (Cacao Growers Association & Cooperatives).

The Center has established a partnership with the DOST for the projects titled “Development of Ready-to-Eat (RTE) Meals as Convenient Food During Calamities Using Water Retort”, and “Food Innovation Center as the First Agricultural and Food-Technology Based Incubator in the Region.” The said projects are very timely to help solve current problems like calamities and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cagayan Valley Small Ruminant Research Center

The Cagayan Valley Small Ruminants Research Center is mandated to lead the conduct of research and extension activities to promote sustainable goat and sheep raising activities. Its goal is to turn the raising of small ruminants from a subsistence farm activity into a profitable business based on livestock.

The center has on-going projects funded by the DOST-PCAARD, namely: Innovative systems in advancing technology-based goat production program (with 6 projects); DOST-PCAARRD-ISU Technology Business Incubation (TBI) Project; and Evaluation of the production performance and egg quality of ITIK Kayumanggi in selected duck egg production regions.

Through its Director, Dr. Jonathan N. Nayga, the Cagayan Valley Small Ruminant Research Center has signed agreements with various individuals and businesses as incubates under the DOST-PCAARRD-ISU Technology Business Incubation (TBI) Project. The main purpose of these agreements is to provide technical assistance, help the incubatees market their products by making infomercials and other marketing materials, and help them set up partnerships, linkages, and marketing to help them grow their businesses. The following are some of the successful incubatees of the center:

Aquchickboy, represented by its President, Mr. Rofel P. Gamiao of San Mateo, Isabela, for his business Aquchickboy for ITIK PINAS production and product development;
MJ Health Product, of Santa Fe, Nueva Vizcaya, represented by its President, Ms. Marjel Cuyangan, for making herbal teas;
Agricomponent Corporation, which has an office in Tagaran, Cauayan City, Isabela, for the processing of chevon products and for letting the incubatee use the integrated slaughterhouse and meat processing facility;
Avryl’s winery with a business address at Tagaran, Cauayan City, Isabela, for producing fruit wines.

Cacao Center

The Cagayan Valley Cacao Development Center is dedicated to continuously undertake research and development to generate cacao technologies considering related problems in cacao production, processing, and utilization. The center also provides cacao farmers and growers a package of technology through the conduct of capability building and extension work. To date, approximately 1,567 cacao farmers have been reached out to through CVCDC since 2015, and a number are already into cacao processing as well.

Because of the different cacao products already made at the center, the university is known as a processing center in the Cagayan Valley. It’s also worth noting that the Intellectual Property Office in Taguig City gave most of the cacao products a Certificate of Registration, Utility Model.

The center has established a partnership with the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD), a government agency under the Department of Science and Technology for the implementation of the project entitled “Waste to Wealth”: Value-adding approaches to transport cacao pod husk towards economic development. The goal of the partnership is to figure out how cacao pod husk can be used to make food and organic compost.

Another is the development and implementation of projects ‘’Development of loT-Based OL Trap and community dengue early warning system (C-DEWS) for Cauayan City, Isabela,’’ which is aligned with the Smarter City projects of Cauayan City under Smarter Healthcare Services, focusing on generating data-driven decision support systems for the community for dengue early warning systems. In addition, the center has agreed with the LGU for the implementation of the project entitled ‘’Development of loT-Based OL Trap and community dengue early warning system (C-DEWS) for Cauayan City, Isabela”. Whereas, the parties have agreed to investigate patterns and data trends of dengue cases in Cauayan City, Isabela in terms of the occurrence of dengue cases per barangay, environmental data, sanitation practices to kill dengue mosquitos; and a location profile with the highest recorded dengue cases.

Freshwater Fisheries Center

The Freshwater Fisheries Center as one of the first NICER Programs in the Philippines under the Science for Change (S4C) Program of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) being monitored by the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and National Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD).

FFC is committed to generate research outputs and innovations that shall be adopted and commercialized to significantly contribute in the development of a sustainable freshwater fisheries industry in the country and in the ASEAN Region. Its vision is to be a leading Freshwater Fisheries R&D Center in the Country and the ASEAN Region.

FFC was awarded with Plaque of Recognition during the 39th Founding Anniversary of Isabela State University, Gawad Pagkilala given by the Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) during the 58th Fish Conservation Week, Certificate of Recognition during the 41st Founding Anniversary as the Multi Awarded R&D Academic Institution, Plaque of Appreciation during the virtual evaluation for PCAARRD’s 2020 Ugnay Award, Plaque of Appreciation during the Packaging of Proposals on Eel and Tilapia Research, and garnered the 1st and 3rd Place in the Best Paper for Technical Research Category on October 2021.

Completed Researchers conducted by the FFC includes the Utilization of Plant-Based Antioxidants for Farmed Tilapia, Conservation and Artificial Spawning of “Ludong” Lobed-River Mullet Cestraeus plicatilis, Utilization of Aquatic Plants as Immunostimulants for Freshwater Eel Culture, Amaranthus spinosus Leaf Meal as Potential Protein Source for Nile Tilapia, Survey of Antimicrobial Use (AMU) in Milksfish Aquaculture in the Philippines, and Preliminary Data Assessment on Status of Freshwater Fisheries in the Philippines.

At present, FFC entered into collaboration with various institutes and organizations such as USC and Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research Development (PCAARRD), University of San Carlos, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-Region 2 (BFAR-R02), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA).

Cagayan Valley Cacao Development Center

Center for Organic Agriculture Research Extension and Training

The Center for Organic Agriculture Research Extension and Training is a research and development center for organic agriculture. Through the financial support from DA-BAR, the center implements a project titled “Promotion and Utilization of Tissue-Cultured Saba Plantlets to Enhance Farm Productivity and Increase Income of Banana Small Holders in Isabela” that aims to capacitate selected farmer associations/cooperatives in both the establishment, management, production, marketing, and operation of banana. The University, through the center, established partnerships with the Providence Banana and High Value Crops Growers Association, Valley High Value Agricultural Cooperative, and Caviteño Isabelino Agriculture Cooperative to capacitate the said cooperatives in the establishment, management, production, marketing, and operation of banana (cardava) saba.

An agreement with the DOST was made by the University for the implementation of the project titled, “Mushroom Cultivation: A Quick Response Community Livelihood Project. The project generally aims to increase food and income security through incorporating mushroom cultivation into livelihood strategies in the communities. Specifically, it aims to strengthen institutional linkages and partnerships among existing duly recognized rural-based organizations (RBOs); provide extension service to RBOs on mushroom livelihood community projects; capacitate RBOs on mushroom growing and processing; and explore strong market linkages for RBOs to promote and develop mushroom family business enterprises.

The Center also initiated the Mushroom Culture Production and Training among the faculty members of the Crop Science Department of the College of Agriculture. The undertaking aimed at capacitating the faculty members to come up with products that will be displayed on one station in the planned eco-tourism trail of the campus.

Equipment Manufacturing Center

The Equipment Manufacturing Center aims to provide globally competitive Agro-Industrial Machineries, Equipment, Pats and Service that would improve the quality of living of stakeholders/end-users. The center, in partnership with private institutions, has established the Equipment Manufacturing Cluster in Region 2 to foster fabrication and inventiveness in the region. The University made an agreement with the Department of Science and Technology for the implementation of the project titled “Upgrading, Pilot Testing, and Commercialization of the Developed Malunggay Leaves and Turmeric Post-Harvest Processing Machines by the Equipment Manufacturing Center (EMC). The DOST provides support and assistance to the university on EMC-2 that adopted the unique strategy from MIRDC to improve productivity and competitiveness of MSMEs in the Metals and Engineering in the region called CREAMM (Clustering of Regional Enterprises for Agro-industrial Machinery and Parts Manufacturing).

Philippine Research Development Center for Mungbean

The Philippine Mungbean Center on the ISU San Mateo campus formed partnerships with the Technology Application and Promotion Institute (TAPI) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for the effective and efficient implementation of the projects titled “Formulation and Utilization of Rations with Mungbean By-Products,” “Duck Fattening Using Mungbean By-Products,” and “Processing of Duck Meat into Longganiza.” The project runs from December 2019 to December 2022. TAPI, through the DOST II, provides financial assistance to the center amounting to one hundred ninety-five thousand three hundred eighty-nine pesos and 19/100. The projects aim to assist student-beneficiaries in the preparation of feasibility studies, upgrade their technical skills, and assist in the management of the projects.