TACLOBAN CITY – Despite cold and gloomy weather with light rains, the Office of the President of the Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU) was filled with warmth and cheers as it welcomed Regional Director Ernesto M. Granada of the Department of Science and Technology 8 (DOST-8) for a simple program on Community Empowerment thru Science and Technology (CEST) project fund turnover to the said institution. 

Beaming with smile, Dr. Dennis de Paz led the officers of EVSU in accepting the fund support of DOST 8 amounting to P200,000 for the Grassroots Advancement Through Innovating Nutrition (GAIN) Products project of which the beneficiary is the POFRANCOCO or Pope Francis Consumers Cooperative.

The project is an infusion of S and T-based interventions to equip the community with the knowledge and skills in producing innovative and low-cost but nutritious baked products. 

The project addresses three components of the program: Health and Nutrition, Human Resource Development, and Enterprise Development.

The said project also responds to the social and economic concerns and aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals.

In his message, Granada mentioned that the said support of DOST 8 is not the first time to EVSU. It can be recalled that the two institutions have been into several collaborations already like the Food Innovation Center (FIC), the dimensional calibration, iSTART, to name a few, but first and hopefully not the last, for CEST.

He further encouraged EVSU to utilize its developed technologies to provide income opportunities to their service communities.

Dr. De Paz on the other hand, gave the full commitment of his administration in achieving the expected deliverables of the project and he happily mentioned that he was enthusiastic about the project and that he was elated that the approval of the project was made during his term. 

De Paz is a newly installed University President of EVSU and was only inaugurated on December 3, 2021 as the 4th University President.

The turnover ceremony was attended by Dr. Benedicto Torre Militante Jr., vice president for Research, Development and Extension who prepared the program; Dr. Lydia Morante, vice president for Academic Affairs; Dr. Baum Avestruz, vice president for Administration; and Dr. Danilo Pulma, vice president for Internationalization, among others. Dr. Faustino "Tito" Aure, EVSU's extension director, is the project leader of GAIN. (GMT/DOST-8)