MSUN CHRIS Center

The Mindanao State University at Naawan envisions to be a forward-thinking university fostering innovation in research and education in aquatic and allied sciences. By implementing its mission to provide a culturally-sensitive, digitally-driven, and globally-engaged academic community committed to transformative research, education, innovation, and entrepreneurship programs for sustainable development.

The Cacao Hub: A Research and Innovation for Sustainability Center or CHRIS Center, is a Center that caters to research and innovation in agriculture and related programs. The center stems from the needs of the community that the Mindanao State University at Naawan serves. The community, being one of the most important stakeholders of the university, identifies a need for a research and innovation center in cacao and other agricultural products that would help in enhancing productivity and increasing profitability. Thus, this center was conceptualized.

The Center commits to providing quality services to its major stakeholders, continuing the vision and mission of the Mindanao State University at Naawan. As a center focused on agriculture and related programs in the University, it brings about a pool of expert faculty and staff working together to create and sustain a good working environment for research, innovation, sustainability, and community development. And a collaboration of various projects that deal with the management and sustainability of the terrestrial ecosystem.

The center houses a cacao processing facility that will serve western Misamis Oriental and other nearby municipalities’ cacao farmer-suppliers. Housed in Mindanao State University at Naawan, College of Environment and Life Sciences, operated and managed by the same institution. The facility is designed as a toll processing wherein farmer groups/ entrepreneurs can have their fermented beans processed into cacao butter and/ or cocoa powder.

The goal of the center is to offer value-added services and easy access to the market for every cacao farmer. In which, cacao farmers will deliver certain amounts of cacao for processing and would deliver these finished products to ready markets for higher profit.