SOXAARRDEC formerly known as Central Mindanao Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (CEMARRDEC) and then Cotabato Agriculture Resources Research and Development Consortium (CAARRDEC) was created on January 26, 1988 under the umbrella of PCARRD now PCAARRD. The consortium was born with the purpose of developing strategies and implementing a dynamic system of research management attuned to the development efforts in Central Mindanao. The Consortium carried the name CEMARRDEC for more than one and half decades. It had undertaken enormous achievements in research and development as well as in touching the lives of the people in its service areas in Central Mindanao. It was only on March 18, 2002 that CEMARRDEC was renamed as CARRDEC due to the regionalization plan of the national government under Executive Order No. 36 on “Providing for the Reorganization of the Administrative Regions in Mindanao and for other Purposes”. The Central Mindanao was renamed Cotabato Region to retain the original composition of the Cotabato Empire that is to include the Province of South Cotabato.
The consortium has widened its membership to 17 in the entire Region XII. With this development, through the Resolution No. 05 series of 2019, CAARRDEC was again renamed to SOCCSKSARGEN Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development Consortium (SOXAARRDEC) and the name was officially used starting April 2020. The change of its name did not affect the management and operation of the consortium as well as its good image as service entity of research, development and extension in Region 12.
Now, SOXAARRDEC is composed of 23 active member institutions from the national and regional agencies and institutions.
The mandate of the consortium continuous to provide avenues for planning, coordination, monitoring/evaluating and sharing R&D programs and resources among R&D institutions in the Region.
SOXAARRDEC Through the Years
1988- CEMMARDEC (the former name of SOXAARRDEC) was created on January 26, 1988, under the umbrella of PCARRD now PCAARRD with the purpose of developing strategies and implementing a dynamic system of research management attuned to the development efforts in Central Mindanao.
2002- CEMARRDEC was renamed as CARRDEC due to the regionalization plan of the national government under Executive Order No. 36 on “Providing for the Reorganization of the Administrative Regions in Mindanao and for other Purposes”. The Central Mindanao was renamed Cotabato Region to retain the original composition of the Cotabato Empire that is to include the Province of South Cotabato.
2009- The consortium endorsed the study “High yielding white maize varieties resistant to bacterial stalk rot and Fusarium ear rot” and won second place on best paper award research category of National Symposium on Agriculture and Aquatic Resources Research and Development (NSAARRD).
2015- CARRDEC was renamed CAARRDEC (Cotabato Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development Consortium) in consolidation with the PCARRD and PCAMRD because of the integration of the aquatic sector.
2019– CAARRDEC changed its name to SOXAARRDEC (SOCCSKSARGEN Agriculture Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development Consortium) by virtue of Resolution No. 13 series of 2019 of the Regional Research Development Coordinating Council through the initiative of Dr. Francisco Gil N. Garcia, the head of the host institution of the consortium.
2020– the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, nevertheless the Consortium continued reaching its stakeholders through the GALING-PCAARRD Contra Covid, the Kaagapay ng Magsasaka sa Krisis at Kalamidad (KMKK) Program and the Covid-19 Quick Response where the consortium distributed 23,468 vegetable seedlings to 2,190 beneficiaries in the region. 7
2021– SOXAARRDEC qualified to the Top 6 Regional Consortia for Ugnay Award 2021.
2022– From 17 Consortium Member Institutions of SOXAARRDEC, 2 institutions were added in 2022 namely, Makilala Institute of Science and Technology (MIST) and South Cotabato State College (SCSC).
2023– SOXAARRDEC was composed of 23 active member institutions, with the recent inclusion of the Department of Trade and Industry XII (DTI XII), DA- Philippine Coconut Authority XII (DA-PCA XII), and the Philippine Information Agency XII (PIA XII).
2024– SOXAARRDEC retained its Top 6 Spot for the Annual Ugnay award of DOST-PCAARRD