The Best Adopter Award at the 2026 S&T Innovations in Agri-Aqua (SINAG) Awards was awarded to the Fatima Multi-Purpose Cooperative (FMPC) of Tunga, Leyte and East-West Seed Corporation on January 30, 2026, at Pasay City.

This award recognizes exemplary achievement in the adoption and commercialization of research-based agri-tech. The award is also in recognition of FMPC’s exceptional achievement in commercializing cassava research outputs. A pivotal aspect of this achievement was the FMPC’s sustained collaboration with the PhilRootcrops at Visayas State University, who frequently provided technical support in the areas of variety selection and production systems and food processing of the root crops.

From its early role as a cassava feed assembler supplying institutional markets in 2012, FMPC steadily evolved into a diversified agri-enterprise. With technical assistance from PhilRootcrops under the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ “Arms to Farms” program, the cooperative strengthened its farmer base and supply chain, eventually becoming the largest cassava assembler in Eastern Visayas.

The cooperative’s move into value-added processing was a major milestone, enabling them to produce ready-to-market root crop food products and receive an FDA License to Operate as a food manufacturer. FMPC most recently strengthened its position in the regional agri-industrial development by processing and opening its own facility in 2025.

As an incubatee of the VSU Agri-Aqua Technology Business Incubator, FMPC illustrates the value of research-extension-industry linkage in fostering inclusive growth and resilient rural enterprises while increasing the income of farmers. The SINAG Best Adopter Award and recognition of the value of extension-oriented partnerships, notably PhilRootcrops and farmer-led cooperatives, in promoting sustainable, innovation-driven agri-business development in the Philippines, aligned with the country’s development framework and the Sustainable Development Goals, is a testimony to the positive impact of cross-border collaborative innovation in agri-business development.