MMSU ITC joins Batac’s Farmers Festival

Written by Administrator on 16 May 2019

MMSU, through the Extension Directorate’s ITC, once again, rejoiced with the City of Batac in its 2019 Farmers Festival this May 1-5, 2019.

Themed “Rambakan ti Panagdur-as ni Mannalon”, the festivity rejoiced on the resilience and sustainability of the City through the empowered farmers and ruralfolks.

Commencing this May 1, the celebration opened through a thanksgiving mass at the Imelda Cultural Center and the ceremonial ribbon cutting of the exhibits. The Information and Technology Caravan (ITC) of MMSU highlighted its agricultural products such as registered inbred rice varieties, Kluai Namwa banana fruit and seedling, organically-grown eggplant, UMMB for livestock, fruit seedlings such as karamay, atis, duhat, sweet tamarind, guava, kalamansi, and others, bamboo crafts, sand-cooked peanut, camangeg-based food products, and corn, cowpea, and mungbean planting materials. Seaweeds and seaweed-based food products were also showcased in the booth such as seaweed kroepeck, sticks, polvoron, and gipang to encourage the women into harnessing the potential of seaweeds, such as eucheuma, abundant in the province. Products of assisted entrepreneurs were also displayed as part of the continuing assistance of the University in promotion of their products to include the rice coffee and other line products of SCUFYND Food Products and the chips and chichacorn of Lucky Theo’s Food Products.

            The IT booth also housed Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials ready for distribution to interested farmers, barangay leaders, women, youth, and visitors. Three-fold and brochure-type reading materials on production and processing technologies were given to interested readers to help them in managing their farms and in assisting parents in preparing healthy meals and snacks for the family. These reading materials were also distributed to graduates of the recent School-on-the-Air program of the University to serve as complementary reading materials to those discussed in the program especially since the exhibit also showcased UMMB and other forages for small ruminants.

            More than serving an exhibit area of these products, information, and technologies, the IT Caravan of the Office aims to spark the interest and will of the readers and visitors to tap the potential of the commodities abundant in the province and establish themselves in meat processing, food and fruit processing, plant propagation, and product development, and other enterprise they wish to develop. Through the ITC, MMSU and developmental information and technologies are brought closer to the people to create awareness and and strategically set MMSU as the University for all.

Other agencies which actively participated in the celebration are PhilRice-Batac showcasing the various rice varieties and IEC materials on rice production, the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) with their delectable carabao milk and ice cream, PhilFIDA with their cotton products and reading materials, Department of Science and Technology Agricultural Training Institute (ATI-RTC 1) with their vegetable production and processing guides, and the Department of Agriculture RFO 1–Ilocos Norte Research and Experiment Center (DA-INREC) with their free seeds. 

Visitors of the booth were also informed on the service, programs, and projects of the University to various municipalities in the province. Information on farming technologies available in the University such as the use of improved seeds, seed inoculant, and carrageenan were also disseminated to interested farmers who have been inspired by the IEC materials to come and inquire in the booth. Activities and updates in the University were also shared through the Information Bulletin and the official newsletter, MMSU Chronicles.

The Carosa Parade enjoining the Research and Extension Directorates officially ended the celebration, with the supportive involvement of the University president, Dr. Shirley C. Agrupis.

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