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Kalinga State University โ€“College of Agriculture, in partnership with the Indigenous PATH Foundation Inc. (IPATH), inaugurated its state-of-the-art hydroponics facility on March 21, 2025. The event commenced with an opening program at Teatro Kalinga, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by university officials, local government representatives, College of Agriculture faculty, staff, and members of the local media.

Dr. Joy Grace P. Doctor, KSU President, expressed her gratitude to the IPATH Foundation and to all the proponents for making the project possible at no cost to the university. She reaffirmed KSUโ€™s commitment to ensuring the sustainability of the initiative and integrating it into academic and research programs.

Providing an overview of the project, Ms. Harriet L. Tendo, President of the Indigenous PATH Foundation Inc., highlighted that the hydroponics system originated from techniques developed by indigenous peoples during World War II to support food production for soldiers. She emphasized that the facility serves as a benchmarking site for farmers and individuals interested in establishing their own hydroponic systems.โ€œ๐‘‡๐‘œ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ, ๐‘ค๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘š ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘Ž ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘‘๐‘ข๐‘๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘ ๐‘ฆ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘š ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ก ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘–๐‘š๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘›๐‘ข๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘ ๐‘œ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐ถ๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘™๐‘™๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž ๐ด๐‘‘๐‘š๐‘–๐‘›๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘…๐‘’๐‘”๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›,โ€ she added.

Dr. Ferdinand Ganotice, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Project Leader, presented the future plans for the facility, including efficient plant cultivation using minimal water and soil, enhancing hands-on learning and research opportunities, and promoting food security.

Former KSU President Dr. Eduardo T. Bagtang, a key proponent of the initiative, extended his appreciation to the IPATH Foundation for selecting KSU as a partner.โ€œ๐พ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”๐‘Ž ๐‘†๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘’ ๐‘ˆ๐‘›๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘ฆ ๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘ข๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘™๐‘–๐‘ โ„Ž ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘’, ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘ก๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘ข๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘  ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž ๐‘–๐‘š๐‘š๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘›๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘’๐‘ฅ๐‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘’๐‘›๐‘๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘’๐‘›โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘–๐‘Ÿ ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค๐‘™๐‘’๐‘‘๐‘”๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ ๐‘˜๐‘–๐‘™๐‘™๐‘  ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘ก๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘™ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘๐‘’๐‘ ,โ€ he remarked.

Dr. Bagtang and Dr. Ganotice formally established the collaboration through a Memorandum of Agreement signed on August 28, 2024. During the inauguration, Dr. Bagtang was represented by Ms. Mary June Wacas, Head of the University Information Office.

Dr. Lope Buen, KSU Vice President for Research, Development, and Extension, acknowledged the significance of strategic partnerships in acquiring valuable facilities like the hydroponics system. He also conveyed appreciation to Dr. Bagtang for his leadership in spearheading the project.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the culmination of the event, which reinforces KSUโ€™s commitment to pioneering agricultural innovations and fostering community engagement in sustainable food production.

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