The Philippines’ leading school in agriculture and the country’s first culinary institution are cooking up something new to upgrade the knowledge of chefs and restaurateurs through the design and offering of a Diploma in Culinary Agriculture.

UPLB and the Center for Culinary Arts, Manila signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on June 11 at the BM Gonzalez Hall in UPLB to design this program.

The Diploma program aims to merge culinary arts and agriculture to enhance employment and in the long term, reverse migration, upgrade agriculture, and promote eco-tourism.

Present at the MOU signing were Dr. Simplicio Medina, director of the Office of International Linkages; Dr. Enrico P. Supangco, dean of the College of Agriculture and Food Science, Dr. Fernando C. Sanchez Jr., UPLB chancellor; and on the CCA side, Marinela Trinidad, CEO; Dr. Veritas Luna, chancellor for education; and Liza H. Morales, director for business development and public relations. (Juan Paolo A. Aquino, with reports from www.cafs.uplb.edu.ph)