A. QUALITY POLICY

The PSAU Research and Development Office is committed to develop and apply appropriate technologies, processes and systems to enhance yield and profit both regional and national levels for sustainable agro-ecological and agro-industrial productivity.

B. VISION, MISSION, GOALS AND CORE VALUES

Vision

The Research and Development (R&D) Office envisions itself to be a frontier of research and development programs and excellent projects for global competitiveness.  It also serves as a venue for providing adequate knowledge and developing appropriate technologies, processes, management schemes, information systems and services adaptive to sustainable agro-industrial productivity and as a support to the College’s instruction, extension and training and production services.

Mission

The mission of the R&D Office is to develop packages of appropriate technologies, processes and systems adaptive to sustainable agro-industrial productivity.

Goal

The goal of the R&D Office is to increase productivity in the region in particular and in the country in general through sensitive, sustainable and appropriate technologies relevant to the needs of agro-industrializing communities.

Core Values

The core values necessary in the attainment of the above scenario includes are capture in the acronym RESEARCH which stands for the following:

R – Relevant Researches
E – Environment-friendly technology
S – Sustainability
E – Efficient governance
A – Action-oriented goals and objectives
R – Reliability
C – Commitment
H – Human sensitivity

C. QUALITY OBJECTIVES

The following are the quality objectives of the PSAU Research and Development Office:

1. To formulate and or revise the R&D Agenda every after five years or as needed based on the development of niche and flagship commodities;
2. To fully implement the R&D agenda every year with focus on agro-ecological issues and concerns;
3. To increase publication of researches by at least 1% per year in International Scientific Indexing (ISI) and other reputable journals (Scopus, Clarivate analytics, Elsevier, Science Direct, Thomson Reuters, Asian Citation, CHED Accredited and others);
4. To strengthen dissemination of research outputs through presentations of at least four papers; and,
5. To obtain an average clientele satisfaction rating of at least 80%.

D. FUNCTIONS OF THE OFFICE

The Research and Development Office of Pampanga State Agricultural University (PSAU) was established mainly to promote, oversee and monitor research programs and activities, ensure smooth implementation of various researches and provide coordination in the dissemination and commercialization of generated technologies for adoption of clientele and other stakeholders.

E. R & D PROGRAMS OF PAMPANGA STATE AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY

The present R&D Program of the College is geared towards the accomplishment of the following major activities:

• Expansion of the agro-forestry programs. The vast reserves of the College provides a wide opportunity for the expansion and agro-
  forestry programs to include researches on biodiversity conservation and proper utilization of natural resources;
• Implementation of commodity research programs which include: rice, corn, sweet tamarind, banana, malunggay, saluyot, banaba,
  sweet sorghum, high value commercial crops, bamboo, organic vegetables, peanut, honey bees, biofuel, biofertilizer, ornamental
  plants, livestock and poultry, processing, and others.
• Conduct of socio-economic researches and entrepreneurship to eventually come up with policy formulation and implementation;
• Intensification of farming system programs which include crop-livestock integration and improved utilization of farm resources and
  indigenous farm by-products;
• Conduct of action research programs on community resource development. This will enable research activities to be more realistic
  in meeting the needs of the community;
• Conduct of research on post-harvest facilities;
• Research quality improvement by commissioning faculty members who have potentials for research and whose fields of
  specialization are different from those required by PCAARRD and DOST. They will act as support force such as statistician, editor,
  critic analyst, and the like for non-science and science research areas;
• Manpower development which can be done through continuous exposure to seminars, workshops, trainings and scholarships to
  relevant fields of specialization; and
• Expansion of research laboratories through grants from other agencies such as Department of Agriculture, DOST, etc.

F. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT THRUSTS

The R&D Office targets the following:

• Improved management of the R&D program;
• Effective and creative use of indigenous and foreign technologies;
• Efficient and sufficient research and development manpower and facilities;
• Close coordination and linkages with the Office of Extension and Training for identification of people’s needs and immediate
  dissemination of research-generated technologies which are the results of interdisciplinary, inter-unit and multi-functional research
  approach;
• Improved quality of researches that suit the needs of the changing times and which are geared towards globalization;
• Close coordination with funding agencies and other linkages that assist in the implementation of relevant research and
  development projects;
• Establishment and expansion of Research and Development Centers for identified commodities suitable to the service area.

G. SPECIALIZED R & D CENTERS AND SUPPORT FACILITIES

TAMARIND RD&E CENTER

The PSAU Tamarind RDE Center was established in 2010 to undertake RDE activities to advance the development of a viable sweet tamarind industry. The Center developed the ‘Aglibut Sweet’ and is now promoting it for large scale planting not only in Central Luzon but also in other parts of the country. ‘Aglibut Sweet’ is the first sweet tamarind registered under the Bureau of Plant Industry – National Seed Industry Council (NSIC).The ‘Aglibut Sweet’ tamarind has been very instrumental in the creation and establishment of institutional partnerships with DA-BAR, CHED, NEDA, and DOST-PCAARRD.

The center covers an area of 1.40 ha for the sweet tamarind scion grove, research area, and seedling nursery. These sites are used for lecture and Demonstration in growing tamarind seedlings for instruction, research, extension and production purposes. The center also generates income generation from processed tamarind products like wine, vinegar, and candies.

ALIAS RD&E CENTER

The Alternative Low Input Agriculture System (ALIAS) Center was created to develop and showcase technologies anchored on the principles of organic farming and sustainable agriculture. It focuses on developing technologies for organic vegetables production. The ALIAS Center was recognized as an Organic Farm by NICERT.

BAMBOO AND RATTAN RD&E CENTER

The Bamboo and Rattan RDE Center was established to serve the needs of the various clients especially those making furniture, houses and many others. It aims to conduct researches in the development and utilization of bamboo for non-food and food products. This center serves as a demonstration farm and experimental sites for bamboo production. This center, which covers an area of 5 has, is also being used for instruction, research, extension and income generation through the production and selling of seedlings of different bamboo species. The Center has a collection of 23 different species of bamboos native to the Philippines as well as from other from countries.Over the years, these bamboo species especially the kwayan tinik, giant bamboo and bolo have been the subject of different researches funded locally and externally.

The Bamboo Production Facility was upgraded in 2018 with the purpose of enhancing the bamboo planting stock production in Central Luzon through the use of enhanced and improved nursery facilities. This facility complemented with the recently completed DOST-PCAARRD bamboo research funded project entitled “Development of Strategies for Propagules and Shoot Production of Three Bamboo Species in Pampanga” being undertaken by Pampanga State Agricultural University from 2016 to 2019.

TISSUE CULTURE LABORATORY

The PSAU Tissue Culture Laboratory was established in September 8, 1999 through the joint efforts of the PSAU and DOST Region 3. It was established in support of the government’s rehabilitation efforts in Central Luzon as a result of the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo and the institution’s development plan to be a demonstration farm for agroforestry and agribusiness projects in the region. It is located in the PSAU RET building.

These are the equipment in Tissue Culture Laboratory:
o Laminar flow hoods
o Analytical balance
o Toploading digital weighing balance
o Magnetic stirrer
o Distilling equipment
o Oven
o Refrigerator
o Mechanical shaker
o Glass cabinets
o Autoclave
o Electric heavy duty autoclave (100L capacity)
o Water distilling apparatus
o Metal sterilizer

In June 2018, a state-of-the art tissue culture laboratory was established in the Crop Science Department. It is a laboratory that conforms to the basic tissue culture laboratory set-up: a preparation room, isolation room, incubation room, areas for hardening and acclimatization of produced plantlets. The crops to be produced using tissue culture are bamboo, banana and some ornamental plants.

MUSHROOM PRODUCTION CENTER

The PSAU Mushroom Center was established for the production of spawn, fruiting bags and mushroom fruits to serve the needs of the PSAU community in particular and the nearby towns in general. It is also being utilized in the conduct of researches related to different aspects of mushroom production and utilization. This research center, located near the IT building, is used for demonstration for mushroom production (spawn and fruits), lecture training and for income generation.

DATA TESTING CENTER

The PSAU Data Testing Center was established in 2005 to cater to the needs of the graduate and undergraduate students and faculty researchers in the analysis and interpretation of data. Said center is located in the RET building, under the Office of the Research Director.

FEED TESTING CENTER

The Feed Testing Center is an accredited and licensed feed laboratory which is authorized to perform feed analysis. It was established on September 9, 1998 through the collaborative efforts of the PAC and DOST region 3 through its Grants-in-Aid (GIA) program. The center is envisioned to serve students, researchers, faculty, farmers and feed millers and other agencies in the analysis of complete feed nutrient. This center is located in the RET building, under the Office of the Research Director.

NUTRACEUTICAL RESEARCH LABORATORY

The PSAU Nutraceutical Research Laboratory (NRL) was inaugurated on June 4, 2015. It was established for continuous production of more valuable research outputs which are related to health and wellness, longevity and food safety not only in animals but also geared towards the benefits for humans. The said laboratory is located besides the DABE building, under the Office of the Research Director.