DA to convert research station to agro eco tourism spot

THE Davao Region Upland Agriculture Research Station (Daruars) will soon convert the 429-hectare land into an agro eco tourism area.

During the groundbreaking ceremony of the Multipurpose R&D Building on Friday (November 29), Assistant Regional Director for Research and Regulations Dr. Angelina Pancho said the establishment of the said building will be the start of the many developments in the area.

She bared that part of the planned development includes: Sloping agricultural land technology (Salt), establishment of building for goat production and development of creeks for fish production.

"This [429 hectares] has a big potential to become an agro eco tourism area. We can conduct research about climate resilient crops here and put more buildings which can help the farmers as well as the IPs," Pancho added.

She also said that the more building established, the more jobs will be generated which can help the indigenous people in the area.

Meanwhile, Digna Sandoval, head of Institutional Development Division of Department of Agriculture Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR) said the donated Multipurpose R&D building is part of the Institutional Development Grant (IDG) given by their agency in support to the regional stations under BAR.

DA-BAR funded the P4 million worth multipurpose R&D building which plays a vital role in providing farmers the means of access to the various farming technologies generated from the works of the R&D community.

BAR's IDG program supports the acquisition of scientific and information technology equipment; including the establishment and renovation of R&D facilities of the National Research and Development System for Agriculture and Fisheries-member institutions.

In a message from DABAR Director Nicomedes Eleazar represented by Sandoval, he stressed that BAR supported the R&D edifice to provide conducive working environment for the researchers.

"May this building serve its purpose of fostering an environment that will facilitate the easier adoption of new technologies that contribute more effectively to tackling the emerging challenges in agriculture, not only in this region, but in other places as well," he adds. Che D. Palicte DA-11