ILAGAN CITY, Isabela,Philippines — A new learning center dedicated to agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) and smallholder farmers will soon rise in Isabela, following a groundbreaking ceremony led by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the Provincial Government of Isabela (PGI) on July 31.

The site is located in front of the Isabela Sports Senior High School, behind the Isabela Sports Complex within the Capitol Compound in Alibagu, City of Ilagan.

Leading the ceremony were DAR Secretary Conrado M. Estrella III, DAR R02 Director Primo C. Lara, Isabela Governor Rodito T. Albano, and several municipal mayors from the province.

To commemorate the occasion, the officials placed a time capsule containing a copy of the project plan at the site.

The project is funded by DAR under the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project, and will be implemented by the PGI.

Key infrastructure components of the learning center include a training center and dormitory, processing center, product display center, administrative building, greenhouse facility, and a tissue culture laboratory.

Once completed, the center is expected to benefit more than 166,000 ARBs, approximately 52,000 potential ARBs, and 467 Agrarian Reform Beneficiary Organizations (ARBOs) across 58 agrarian reform communities in the Cagayan Valley Region.