Cultivating Spawns of Success: The PSU Mushroom RD&E Journey
Mushroom RD&E activities started its humble beginning in May 2000 and it was then called the Mushroom Research and Development Laboratory (MRDL).
The project became fully operational with the construction of the mushroom building nestled in a 8,000 sq. m. area and eventually evolved into PSU-Mushroom Research & Development Center (PSU-MRDC) in 2003.
CHED through its GIA-Technology Commercialization Program funded the implementation of the project titled, “Mushroom for Profit: A Livelihood Assistance Project for the Youth and Marginalized Sectors in Pangasinan”.
In February 2022, the Center metamorphosed into PSU-Mushroom Technology and Innovation Center with the completion of the Multi-Purpose Buildings through the initiative and efforts of Hon. Conrado M. Estrella III, Deputy Speaker and ABONO Party List Congressman of the 28th Philippine Congress.
The center is guided by the following vision and mission:
VISION
The PSU-MTIC envisioned to be a leader in mushroom research, development, production, trainings and demonstrations in Ilocos region in the next 10 years.
MISSION
Aims for the sustainable production, marketing and distribution of high quality and adaptable strains of mushroom species accessible for marginalized farmers, students, entrepreneurs and mushroom growers.
OBJECTIVES
The Center aims to:
Serve as on-site facility for instruction, research and venue for extension/dissemination services for faculty, students and stakeholders;
Generate mushroom technologies that are innovative, adaptable to the condition of Pangasinan and to the semi-arid condition of Region I;
Produce quality pure cultures, sub-cultures, mother and planting spawns and fruiting bags, food, nutraceutical and pharmacological properties, generate income and jobs for the stakeholders of the Center.
Republic Act (RA) No. 8292 also known as the “Higher Education Modernization Act of 1997” mandates the governing board of the State Universities and Colleges (SUC) to establish research and extension centers of the SUC where such will promote the development of the latter (Section 4-m). Moreover, pursuant to RA No. 7722, and as reiterated in Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Memorandum Order No. 52, Philippine higher education institutions (HEI’s) need to become platforms for research, innovation and extension in pursuit of inclusive social and economic development.
Moreover, with the enactment of RA 10068 otherwise known as the Philippine Organic Agriculture Act of 2010, mushroom can be positioned as one of the vegetables that can be produced organically using lignocellulosic materials from agro-industrial wastes which is abundant locally.
Pangasinan State University (PSU), inaugurated under Presidential Decree No. 1497, adheres to instituting research and extension and alleviate in the provision of advanced instruction in the arts, agricultural and natural sciences as well as in technological and professional fields. PSU is also mandated by the constitution to establish and maintain a complete, adequate, and integrated system of education relevant to the goals of national development and further prescribes that all educational institutions shall aim to develop scientific, technological, and vocational efficiency.
The Center’s Agenda is aligned with the Pangasinan State University’s Research, Extension and Innovation (REI) agenda anchored on the major functions of the University and Research thrusts articulated in the National Higher Education Research Agenda 2 (NHERA 2) 2009-2018 of the CHED. The agenda form the acronym TECHNOLOGY which is the primary focus of REI.