CLSU, TAO Foods Company Sign Agreement to Commercialize PhilSCAT-bred Rice Varieties
University President Dr. Evaristo A. Abella, together with Mr. Julio D. Sy, Jr., Owner of the TAO Foods Company Inc. (TFCI), signed a new licensing agreement to commercialize four new hybrid rice varieties bred by experts from the Philippine-Sino Center for Agricultural Technology (PhilSCAT). The ceremonial signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) took place during the North Luzon Innovation and Technology Transfer Summit 2025, held on April 23-24 in Baguio City. This event, hosted by the Department of Science and Technology-Cordillera Autonomous Region, attracted innovators, technology adopters, and higher education institutions from the region, as well as from Regions 1, 2, and 3. The agreement provided the TFCI the right to commercialize the Hybrid Rice Mestizo 125, 126, 127, and 128 for a period of 6 years. In return, CLSU as the owner of these varieties, will receive royalty fees from this agreement that will later on benefit the ongoing and future research activities of the university. Director Dr. Julius Cesar Sicat from DOST R3 expressed his support to this initiative by gracing the event, along with CLSU faculty member Dr. Jerwin Undan, who served as a witness during the MOA signing.
