QUEZON CITY -- Agriculture Secretary William Dar led the groundbreaking ceremony of the P10 million (M) swine multiplier farm to rise at the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU) in Bacnotan, La Union on July 22, 2021.

The multiplier farm will serve as a learning center for the university students and provide extension support services and enhance policy advocacies aimed at producing and providing quality hogs for the province and nearby areas.

Seeing the need for a modernized center to cater to the needs of DMMMSU students and local hog raisers in the North, Secretary Dar, in his message, committed an additional P10M funding to be sourced from the savings of the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office (DA-RFO) 1.

“I believe that the engine of growth for agricultural development are technology and innovation. Through these, we can achieve increased yield and better income of our farmers,” he said.

Aside from the multiplier farm, DA also awarded DMMMSU a farm-to-market road (FMR) project worth P37.5M, a road development project leading to the multiplier farm at P8M, a demonstration farm and training center worth P4.875M, and various farm machineries and equipment valued at P3M.

“The DA cannot work on its own, and so I urge the academe to be one of our partners for the steady growth of the agri-fishery sector and attain a sustainable and resilient Philippine agriculture for the future generations,” he stressed.

On top of the P63M worth of projects turned over to the state university, Sec. Dar committed another P25M in funds for a proposed FMR project.

“We will continue to extend support and maintain a strong collaboration with DMMMSU so together we can push for a higher level of learning and produce a roster of innovative and productive graduates,” the agri chief said.

The Secretary added that it is important for the state universities to have areas and centers where the students can put into practice what they learned from the books.

“Mas kailangan ng experience ng estudyante at trainees to enable them to produce quality and sustainable food supply. You need to have actual projects in order to learn,” he concluded. (ARodriguez, DA-AFID)