CALAMBA CITY, Laguna- Atimonan, Quezon is grooming thousands of “guyabano” (annona muricata) seedlings in preparation for the town’s guyabano sour soup production under the government’s priority stimulus program for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
Quezon Public Information Office on Monday said that some 80 hectares of land have been planted with 52,020 guyabano seedlings provided by the provincial government as a headstart.
The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) has even provided training in the proper care and management of the popular guyabano trees as a livelihood and as a major product of the town for the national government’s one town, one product (OTOP) promotional program.
OTOP aims to promote goods and products of Filipino towns, cities, and regions, and provides funding for small businesses. It is administered by the Department of Budget and Management.
Last week, the town hosted the “Guyabano Growers Summit 2017” last Nov. 23 at the Quezon Herbal Pavilion, Old Zigzag highway in the town where some 130 farmers joined the skills training on guyabano production and management conducted by Ariel Mañalac, an OPA marketing specialist.
Atimonan Mayor Ticoy Mendoza highlighted the development of human resources and natural resources as great challenges. He commended the guyabano project as among the profitable good practices to be sustained for the next generation.
“All of this is a journey. This is an endeavor that we take today to pass on to the next generation for them to enjoy a better future,” Mendoza stressed. (Zen Trinidad/PNA)
