(INVEST NORTHERN SAMAR FACEBOOK)
TACLOBAN CITY– Northern Samar is poised to roll out its first locally produced disaster-response food product with the upcoming launch of a ready-to-eat (RTE) champorado technology—an innovation designed to deliver quick, nutritious, and shelf-stable meals to communities affected by calamities.
The initiative was formalized on Tuesday, December 9, after the provincial government—through the Provincial Economic Development and Investment Promotion Office (PEDIPO)—signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Eastern Visayas Food Innovation Center (EVFIC), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU).
The MOU signing took place during the 2025 EVFIC Business Forum in Tacloban City, which gathered stakeholders from government, academe, and the research sector to strengthen the region’s food innovation ecosystem and promote science-led solutions for community development.
PEDIPO head Jan Allen Berbon said the pilot production will start in San Roque, a town equipped with a shared service facility and an active cacao farmers’ group—making it an ideal location for the initial rollout.
“The pilot area is in San Roque as they already have the facility and a community of cacao farmers who can support raw material requirements,” Berbon said.
Production is expected to begin in January next year. Champorado—a chocolate rice porridge traditionally made using sticky rice, tablea, and milk—has been transformed into a retortable, ready-to-eat version through a joint effort of EVFIC, DOST, and EVSU. The product, packed in heat-stable pouches, is designed to be safe for long-term storage, easily transportable, and immediately consumable during emergencies when access to cooking facilities is limited.
Berbon emphasized that the project positions Northern Samar as the first province in Eastern Visayas to locally produce a disaster-response food item. Beyond enhancing emergency relief operations, he said the initiative is expected to stimulate local livelihood by providing cacao processors with training, technical support, and access to improved food-processing technologies.
The program builds on an earlier partnership between the provincial government and DOST Region VIII under the Community Empowerment through Science and Technology (CEST) program, which laid the groundwork for technology transfer and the establishment of innovation-driven community enterprises.
Through the combined efforts of PEDIPO, EVFIC, DOST, and EVSU, Northern Samar aims to strengthen its food supply chain to serve both disaster-response needs and potential commercial markets—while supporting local cacao farmers in scaling up production.
Officials noted that the RTE champorado initiative contributes to a broader push to boost the province’s disaster resilience, enhance its food innovation sector, and drive long-term economic growth through science-based and community-centered solutions.
They stressed that embracing innovations such as the RTE champorado brings Northern Samar closer to building a competitive, sustainable, and future-ready food system for its communities.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
