News Feature | The Isabela State University (ISU) has launched the ISU Farmers Market in its Echague Campus in April 2023. With the aim to provide local smallholder farmers, the Farmers Market is a platform to directly sell their products to consumers.

ISU, being a state university, has a social responsibility to its clients to help them improve their standard of living in terms of increased income to meet their families’ needs.

On the part of ISU community, and other stakeholders, the Farmers Market is a source of cheap, locally and freshly grown, safe and nutritious agricultural products. It also benefits the community as it helps preserve local agriculture and imbibe a sense of community and promote local economic development.

One of the components of the project is organizing a food drive where both perishable and non-perishable food items will be solicited from ISU employees and stakeholders. The donations will be distributed to our indigent students. This would not only combat student hunger but also prevent food wastage.

The ISU Farmers Market is the approved extension project of the College of Agriculture initiated by Prof. Anna Marie M. Bahala as Project Leader, with Mr. Rex Mendoza and Ms. Eva Maeye Sua as Study Leaders. This project will support the attainment of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

Through this project, the smallholder farmers will have increased income opportunity, access to new technologies and better economic opportunities; and improved agricultural productivity. It will also combat student hunger and food wastage. Moreover, the consumers will have access to safe and nutritious food.