History

The Ilocos Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development Consortium (ILAARRDEC) is a conglomerate of research  and development institutions or associates in the fields of Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources (AANR) in the Ilocos region.

Based at the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU), the consortium  was established  on December 21, 1979, as  the Ilocos Agricultural Research Center (ILARC) when a memorandum of agreement was signed between the then Philippine Council  for Agriculture Resources Research, now the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) and  MMSU, together with the then Cotton Research and Development Institute (CRDI) now the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFIDA); and the then Philippine Tobacco Research and Training Center (PTRTC), now the National Tobacco Administration (NTA). It gradually metamorphosed and finally emerged as Ilocos Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development Consortium with the inclusion of aquatic resources in 2013.

Backed-up by 18 solid and supportive member-institutions, 15 of which are R&D implementing institutions, the rest (3) are non-R&D institutions.

The consortium maintains its commitment to extend its services and deliverables with passion for excellence, achievements, and innovations. With the strong spirit of Ugnayan among its member institutions, ILAARRDEC bagged the PCAARRD Most Outstanding Consortium in the country thrice in 1996, 2004 and  2012  for exemplary performance as a Regional R&D consortium. Since 1996, the consortium remained on the top three positions from the 14 consortia all over the country.

The consortium continues to partner with various institutions having mutual commitment and aspiration to spur ANNR and R&D in the region.