Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Dr. William D. Dar on Wednesday (December 2) attested to Isabela State University’s commitment in various agriculture undertakings.
The University has sealed partnership with DA for the establishment of Swine Multiplier Breeder Farm; National Dairy Cattle Breeding and Artificial Insemination Center; Poultry and Small Ruminants Multiplier Farm; and Cattle Feedlot Fattening.
The Secretary commended these engagements, saying these would reinforce the province’s efforts in advancing sustainable and resilient agriculture, especially after the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela faced heavy agricultural damages in the onslaught of Typhoon UlyssesPH alongside successive inclement weather conditions early this November.
“Mayroon tayong Santa Cruzan ng mga bagyong dumating nitong Nobyembre, at anlaki na po nung pinsala na naidulot ng mga bagyong ito, at about Php 3.5 billion of damages just for Region 02 alone. But looking at the whole Philippine picture, lahat ng bagyo dito sa taon na ito, Php 16.2 billion of agricultural damages.”, he said.
Dr. Dar furthered: “so, resiliency is the name of the game, but at the same time being competitive. And it’s the universities that can model all these resiliency models, sustainability models, and models of higher levels in productivity and higher levels of income”.
The Agriculture Secretary also advised: “Let that partnership be nurtured not only for academic excellence, but also for relevance of these technologies that are generated by the University for the common farmer and fisherfolks”.
Dar also acknowledged the efforts of farmer cooperatives in the province and the region for contributing to the agriculture performance of the country amid the health crisis.
“Alam po ninyo, ang Pilipinas during this time of pandemic, CoViD-19, ang sector ng Agrikultura lang ang lumago. Ituloy na natin ito. Nangyari na, ipagpatuloy po natin para sag anon, sapat ang pagkain ng ating bansa, at ang presyo ng mga bilihin ay kayang kaya ng consuming public”.
Meanwhile, University President Dr. Ricmar P. Aquino thanked the Secretary and the Department for the continuous support and commitment, to which he described “fostered the R&D Facilities ISU is known for at the present”.
The University leads the region in research undertakings on fisheries, small ruminants, and artificial insemination, along with other DA-funded studies.(JF/GZ/BJC-UMIS-CMS)