The Department of Agriculture Regional Office 1 (DA-RFO1) through its Adaptation & Mitigation Initiatives in Agriculture (AMIA) Program turned over the newly established Root Crops Processing Facility to the Lancuas AMIA Integrated Farming Association of Barangay Lancuas, San Emilio, Ilocos Sur, on March 15, 2024.

The Root Crops Processing Facility was implemented by the DA-RFO1 with a cost of Php 1,098,686.58 and was awarded to the said association. The facility aims to have the local harvests of vegetables and rootcrops in the area be processed into veggie chips that can provide an additional source of income for the farmers.

The awarding ceremony was spearheaded by DA-RFO I Regional Technical Director for Operations, Engr. Dennis I. Tactac, together with San Emilio Municipal Mayor Joey Warren Bragado.

Further supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) the association also received the initial set of packaging materials designed by DOST to make their product more marketable.

Members of the association, whose products included Lancuas’ Best Veggie Chips, comprised of different flavors from various crops such as ube and camote, noted that the facility would be a big help to the community as they previously used a different building of the barangay for the processing.

Mayor Joey Warren A. Bragado expressed his deep gratitude to the DA and assured of his administration’s support to continuously prioritize agricultural development in their municipaility. “The whole population of the municipality will never forget this support and I am confident that the Lancuas AMIA Village shall sustain this project.”, he said.

The Lancuas AMIA is the very first AMIA village established in Region I and has since then received various interventions from the program.