SARA, ILOILO — The humble squash is getting a major upgrade in northern Iloilo. On June 3, 2026, the Department of Trade and Industry Iloilo Provincial Office joined partner agencies in signing a memorandum of agreement to establish the Kalabasa Processing Center for the LADAP Agrarian Reform Community. The project aims to transform locally grown kalabasa into high‑value products, strengthening the province's farm‑to‑table food economy and creating new income streams for agrarian reform beneficiaries.
The collaboration brings together the Department of Agrarian Reform, DTI Iloilo, the Department of Science and Technology, the Provincial Cooperative Development Office, and Taytay sa Kauswagan Inc. DTI Iloilo Provincial Director Ma. Dorita Chavez led the agency's commitment to provide enterprise development support. Sara Mayor Jon Aying also attended, expressing the local government's full backing for the initiative. The partnership reflects a whole‑of‑government approach to rural enterprise development.
From Farm to Value‑Added Product
The processing center will enable LADAP ARC members—farmers from the barangays of Lanciola, Aldeguer, Devera, Anoring, and Padios—to convert their raw squash into processed goods with longer shelf lives and higher market value. DTI Iloilo will deliver product development assistance, entrepreneurship training, and market linkage facilitation to help the community‑based enterprise grow sustainably.
For Iloilo's gastronomic landscape, the center adds another layer to the province's food processing capability. Squash can be transformed into noodles, chips, baked goods, and traditional Ilonggo delicacies, each carrying the potential to reach wider markets. The value‑added approach ensures that farmers capture more of the consumer peso rather than selling raw produce at fluctuating farmgate prices. DOST Iloilo Provincial Director Engr. Shiela Oberio and TSKI President Peter Montalban were among the signatories.
A Model for Rural Food Enterprise
The Kalabasa Processing Center forms part of broader efforts to promote value‑added agriculture across Iloilo. By integrating agrarian reform communities into the food processing value chain, the project helps diversify rural incomes and build economic resilience. The initiative aligns with Iloilo's UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy status, which celebrates not just its dishes but the entire ecosystem behind them.
For the farmers of northern Iloilo, the processing center represents a shift from subsistence to enterprise. The partnership ensures that technical expertise, equipment, and market access are available to communities that have long relied on raw commodity sales. As the center begins operations, the squash that once left Sara by the truckload will increasingly leave as packaged goods bearing the community's name.
