Daily Archives: 25 January, 2023

CVRC Agro-Eco Tourism and Organic Farm (City of Ilagan, Isabela)

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CVRC Agro-Ecotourism and Organic Farm

The Cagayan Valley Research Center (CVRC) Agro-Eco Tourism and Organic Farm, strategically located at the back of  the Ilagan Public Market and adjacent to the National Highway, was accredited by the Department of Tourism (DOT) on May 23, 2016.

Vermicompost Production Area

The CVRC is one of the Bureau of Agricultural Research’s active partners in research and development (R&D) in the region and is also a certified third party organic farm as issued by the OCCP, certified last August 2017 and renewed last October 29, 2018.  On June 5, 2016, it was also accredited as a learning site.

Cagayan Valley Research Center – Annex

Learning Center and Museum for Organic Agriculture

The farm has an approximate are of 32 hectares of which 8 hectares is for the experimental farm, 10 hectares for the non-experimental farm and 14 hectares for the expansion area.

Personnel transplanting seedlings into trays

It offers organic vegetables, edible landscaping and vermicompost production which are open for public visits and stakeholders, particularly farmers, entrepreneurs and students.

Plant Genetic Resources Center

Organic Seed Storage Display House

It is home to the Cagayan Valley Research Center – Annex, the Plant Genetics Resources Center, Organic Seed Storage Display House, the Learning Center and Museum for Organic Agriculture, Herbal Garden, Children’s Park, Alphabet Garden, Pinakbet Park, a butterfly sanctuary, sunflower garden, tunnel garden, a floating restaurant, Youth Garden, a kid zone garden and the Children’s Park with a haven of organic plants and vegetables.

Alphabet Garden

Mushroom Production Area

The Cagayan Valley Research Center – Annex, a satellite station of the CVRC, is the regional show window of the Department of Agriculture that is responsible for the promotion of soil and water management and conservation measures for agricultural development.

Herbal Garden

Solar System Garden

The Plant Genetics Resources Center (PGRC), inaugurated in May 2018, caters to the conservation of collected germplasm of major crops in the Cagayan Valley.

Children’s Park

Bahay Kubo

Here, you can pick and pay (bingwit mo, bayad mo) for your vegetables and they also have a fishing area, picnic cottages and offer bikes for rent (Php50/hour).  They also sell chickens, ducks, mushrooms, lettuce and other vegetables.

Statue of a Carabao Cooling Itself in Mud

Statues of Children Playing Luksong Tinik

CVRC Agro-Eco Tourism and Organic Farm: Purok 2, Brgy. San Felipe, 3300 City of Ilagan, Isabela.  Mobile number: (0956) 096-3388 and (0927) 910-1166.  E-mail: cvrc.rfo@da.gov.ph and da.cvrc@yahoo.com.  Website: www.cagayanvalley.da.gov.ph. Admission: Php20.

Mangi Food Hauz and Pasalubong Center (City of Ilagan, Isabela)

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Mangi Food Hauz and Pasalubong Center

On the afternoon of our second day in Isabela, we were driven to the Mangi Food Hauz and Pasalubong Center which is run by the Department of Agriculture-Cagayan Valley Research Center (DA-CVRC)   Employees Multi-purpose Cooperative.  Mangi is the Ybanag word for “corn.”

Ms. Elizabet Allam

Located just adjacent to the Isabela Police Provincial Office and the Ilagan Public Market, the food house is an innovative breakthrough of the DA-CVRC, promoting corn and its products.  The City of Ilagan is the country’s Corn Capital (with 80% of the population being corn farmers) and this restaurant offers corn fare such as corn coffee, energy ball, puto, nachos, inandappel,  corn shake, pansi de mangi, pastillas de mangi, all made with corn.

Corn-based food products

Here, we were welcomed by its manager Ms. Elizabeth S. Allam.  Ms. Allam has developed various corn recipes such as creamy cornbonara (with flat noodles made of purple corn), pinataro (its take on ginatan where the galapong is corn-based), cornganisa (a vegan sausage composed of mushrooms, malunggay, tofu and, of course, corn), and creamy corn pizza (corn is used for the topping, sauce and dough).

During our visit, Elizabeth introduced to us their decadent soft-serve ice cream – cornbetes. This corn-based product was launched by DA-CVRC Chairman William Contillo on October 12, 2019, the second day of the “Kain Na” Food and Travel Festival, North Luzon Edition at the Ayala Technohub in Baguio City. We each tasted the pure flavors of corn with crunchy corn kernels.

Cornbetes

Mangi Food Hauz and Pasalubong Center: Acacia St., Brgy. Baligatan, 3300 City of Ilagan, Isabela.  Mobile number: (0977) 213-1136, (0915)902-5266 and (0939) 115-6879.  E-mail: dacviarcempc@yahoo.com.