A technology business incubation agreement seeking to boost the food processing industry in the province of Isabela has been signed, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said.
The agreement was signed by the officials of the Isabela State University -Cagayan Valley Small Ruminants Research Center (ISU-CVSRRC), Provincial Science and Technology Center (PSTC) of Isabela, and the Sagittarian Agricultural Philippines, Inc. on Aug. 10.
During his weekly report on Friday, Aug. 20, DOST Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña said the ISU’s Agri-Aqua Technology Business Incubator (ATBI) under the National ATBI program of the DOST-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) inked the incubation pact with Sagittarian Agricultural Philippines, Inc. “to expand the company’s product line."
He noted that the company started its poultry production, hog-raising, fish production, and grains trading in July 2016 and after two years, it set up its Sagittarian Meat Processing,
“To promote the products, food counter outlets under the trade name “The Chicken Place” were installed initially within the city of Ilagan, and expanded in the provinces of Isabela and Cagayan,” he cited.
"Despite the pandemic, the company managed to respond to the need for fresh and affordable products by establishing Juicy Delight in December 2020. Juicy Delight carries locally produced products such as Hotdog, Hungarian Sausage, Longganisa, Embotido, Burger Patty, Nuggets, Ham, and other chicken marinated products.”
The DOST chief said seeing the need “to innovate and capture a bigger market”, the company enrolled in the ISU-ATBI incubation program managed by ISU’s CVSRRC in partnership with the PSTC of Isabela.
With the signing of the incubation agreement, the company will be assisted in developing canned chicken products utilizing the developed meat canning technology of ISU-CVSRRC, the ISU said.
"The canned products will be sold as ready-to-eat products and designed to be responsive to the present needs of the consumers. The company will utilize its own locally produced meat, hence cost of production will be lower as compared to other food processors,” it said in a statement.
“Aside from developing canned products, ISU-ATBI will also provide services in brand marketing, e-commerce and financial management,” it added.
The agreement was signed by ISU-CVSRRC Director Dr. Jonathan N. Nayga, PSTC-Isabela Director Lucio G. Calimag, and Jose Avelino G. Diaz, president and chief-executive-officer (CEO) of the Sagittarian Agricultural Philippines, Inc.
“With this partnership, we hope that the technology-based food processing will be adopted and hopefully will boost the food processing industry in the province utilizing locally produced raw materials and soon will make Sagittarian Agricultural Philippines, Inc. one of the leading integrated agricultural companies in the country,” the ISU said.