CLSU teams up with LG for quality seeds

4 July 2008
Marlowe U. Aquino, PhD

Since the joint establishment of the Fruit and Vegetable Seed Center (FVSC) in the late 90s of the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) and the Nueva Ecija provincial local government (LGU), the FVSC has supported and continued to provide products and services to farmers and opportunities to engage in alternative activities.

One of the strongest contributions of the FVSC is the provision of quality seeds and planting materials on fruits and vegetables which supports the programs of the DA's Ginintuang Masaganang Ani. In line with this, the CLSU-LGU FVSC continues to address issues on provincial food security and sustainability, production management systems, alternative activities as processing of new products out of the raw materials which were extracted for seed production.

According to Dr. Nenita dela Cruz, FVSC manager, her team decided to come up with other products aside from quality seeds because of the issue on food security especially for LGUs and programs of elementary and secondary schools on health and nutrition. Also, the FVSC team processed products derived from the raw materials prior to seed production. Unless these are put into good use, they will just be there as farm waste and made into organic fertilizer. Among the crops processed into value-added products are hot chili, squash, and tomatoes.

Through these alternative product processing activities, it is viewed that the FSVC will not only address the requirements of farmers for quality seeds but also the women's group and educational institutions that turn these crops into a more nutritious and profitable alternative livelihood.

CLSU and the Nueva Ecija LGU as the frontrunners of this activity can surely share their experiences to other organizations and institutions that willing to establish collaborative and complementary activities with local partnership.