- Article by: SLolla & HMDimapilis
- Provincial Agriculture Center, Merit, Victoria
The Provincial Agriculture Center (PAC), under the Provincial Agriculturist’s Office (PAgO), continues to serve as a dynamic hub for agricultural learning, innovation, and development in Oriental Mindoro. Over the past months, PAC welcomed cooperatives, academic institutions, government agencies for benchmarking visits, training, and site observations.
On February 12 and 24, 2025, students from Mary Help of Christians School Inc. and Rural-Based Organizations (RBOs) took part in hands-on training on coconut-based processing, in partnership with TESDA, aiming to foster youth entrepreneurship using local resources.
A notable exchange occurred on March 10, 2025, when the Food Innovation Center (FIC) Head of Batanes, along with their Provincial Agriculturist and staff, visited PAC to innovations in food processing.
On April 3, 2025, DA-RIARC toured PAC’s agri-facilities to learn best practices in value-adding and enterprise development. Cooperatives from Baco followed on April 22, with CALFAMCO attending a two-day fruit and processing training on April 24–25.
PAC also hosted MinSU i-BIBES participants for a food safety training on June 9, and supported ATI MIMAROPA’s site visit on June 10 for their Training of Trainers on High Value Crops Processing with Gender and Development.
These engagements highlight PAC’s growing impact as a center for capacity-building, promoting safe, value-added production, and fostering partnerships aligned with Provincial Government’s vision of inclusive and sustainable agriculture.●