This project builds on the assets of smallholder farmers, students, and other sectors as the most immediate practical strategy for poverty reduction, given that agriculture is by far the most important income and livelihood source of opportunities to produce and market agricultural surplus as a path to poverty reduction, better food security, and stimulation of rural economies. The Shared Service Facility (SSF) will upgrade the teaching of food-related subjects, especially in food technology, CBHM/BSHRM, BTTE, and Agricultural sources. This enhanced food laboratory of the college will also be the venue for various trainings on food processing. thereby contributing to the provision of alternative livelihood opportunities to the people of Apayao. Also, the faculty serves as a venue for the commercialization of protected technologies (food and beverages) generated or derived from research at the college.

Facilities of SSF Project

Sample Products of SSF Project

The project strategically established a Natural Textile Fiber Innovation Hub in Apayao capable of processing at full capacity 10–40 kilograms of fiber per day, equivalent to about 60 kilograms of spinnable or opened fibers ready for yarn and other textile material conversion. The primary objective of the project is to provide pretreated fiber requirements for the Regional Yarn Production Innovation Center (RYPIC) based at ISU Ilagan, Isabela, and to promote the natural textile fiber chain and catalyze an integrated local textile ecosystem. The Natural Textile Fiber Hub (NTFIH), in close coordination with DOST Regional Offices in the Cordillera Administrative Region and Region 2, and in partnership with Apayao State College and Isable State University, establishes and verifies the performance of pineapple leaf and banana fibers extracted from Apayao and its nearby provinces and localities. The established NTFIH facilities conduct machine efficiency tests on the treated fibers and mechanically process the fibers to ensure deviations. This project aims to:

• To establish a Natural Textile Fiber Innovation Hub in Apayao capable of processing at full capacity 10–40 kilograms of fiber per day of textile application, validate the efficiencies and quality of the output, and determine the costs of end products;
• To enhance the regional technical capability on the extraction and processing of banana and pineapple leaf textile fibers in Apayao in support of the Regional Textile Industry for the Philippine Textile Economy;
• To validate and verify the textile raw material extraction and processing technologies of banana and pineapple leaf sources in Apayao at the community scale; and
• Conduct capability building on cultural management and fiber extraction for both Banana Pseudostem and Pineapple leaves as Farmer Partners alternative sources of livelihood.

The Conservation Agriculture in Forest Ecosystem (CAFÉ) is a forest-based demonstration area that aims to establish multi-storey cropping combinations of forest trees, fruit trees, and cash crops in mid-elevation areas of Conner, Apayao. The integration of fruit trees such as Rambutan, Guyabano, Mangosteen, and Durian would generate seasonal but sustainable financial inflow within 7 to 12 years, while cash crops such as Black Pepper, Mungbean, Pineapple, Ginger, Yam, and Tannia would provide immediate income within the year. The establishment of the CAFÉ Project would therefore be a big help in easing poverty in the province and increasing the income of the upland farmers. This project builds on the assets of the smallholder farmers as the most immediate practical strategy for poverty reduction, given that agriculture is by far the most important income and livelihood source for the poor farmers in the uplands. It will enable these farmers to better exploit opportunities to produce high-value commercial crops as cash crops or intercrops under existing forest cover as a path to poverty reduction, better food security, stimulation of the rural economy, and preserving the grandeur of Apayao’s remaining forest cover. This project is institutionally funded through the Research Fund

The CAFÉ Demonstration Project in Guinaang, Conner, Apayao