CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — The Department of Agriculture office in Region 10 (DA-10) has assured that Northern Mindanao can produce a monthly supply of at least 400 tons of vegetables for nationwide distribution.
DA-10 Director Carlene Collado on Thursday said that in the Bukidnon town of Talakag alone, local farmers can supply 100 tons of vegetables weekly from the municipality’s 3,000-hectare agricultural land.
DA Secretary Emmanuel Piñol even hailed four of Bukidnon’s municipalities as “Vegetable Centers of the Philippines.”
Collado said other Bukidnon towns that can supply the same volume of vegetables are Impasug-ong, Sumilao, and Lantapan municipalities. Overall, the four towns can produce an estimated 1,600 tons of vegetables per month — mostly large carrots, white potato, cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower.
Meanwhile, in order to sustain the production, the DA-10 chief recommended that local officials of the four Bukidnon towns draft and submit their respective five-year development plan to facilitate marketing agreements with vegetable buyers.
This can be done, he said, through loans offered by DA’s Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC), wherein farmer organizations can borrow as much as PHP20 million to expand their farms.
Collado said several local government units and their farmer organizations will converge and conduct a planning and workshop activity to formulate their respective agriculture development plans.
DA has set aside a total of PHP170 million worth of loans for the farmers in Talakag alone, in which PHP150 million can be availed through Production Loan Easy Access Facility — a special credit program designed to address financial needs of marginalized farmers.
Collado added that ACPC offers non-collateralized loans for agri-fishery production. Borrowers can avail PHP50,000 per household depending on the type of agri-fishery production, to be financed at 6 percent interest per annum payable within a period of two to 10 years. (Ercel Maandig/PNA)
