PIA Press Release
2008/04/19
by RG Alama
Davao City (19 April) -- In an effort to uplift the lives of the identified 35,000 households living below the poverty line in Davao Oriental, the province is embarking to assist these families by embarking on a massive production of agricultural crops with high commercial value by maximizing land use in the province.
Disclosing her program to the members of the media during the Kapihan sa Kapitolyo (Mati) held last April 17 at the Governor's Mansion, Davao Oriental Provincial Governor Corazon Malanyaon said that the program is not just subsistence farming but rather a large-scale plan to improve the income of below poverty-line households.
The Governor said that through the program she hopes to increase the income of the households to P6,000 a month or more than P70-thousand a year.
Gov. Malanyaon identified major thrusts in this alleviation program which includes; maximize land use, crop production, delineate certain areas to be developed large-scale and plant suitable crops with ready market and available technology.
Among the identified crops include cassava, abaca, oil palm, rubber, rice, corn, coconut (enhancement) and aqua-culture. She said that summits have been held with the participation of these different stakeholders.
The Governor has recently finalized an agreement with one state farm in China for Cassava production. She said the province will supply the cassava requirements for the State farm and one condition in the program is that if they meet the required volume the Chinese will build the needed processing plants in the province.
She said the focus on high-yield crops where technology is available and when there is a ready market as to provide income, which the Governor said could be use by the family to defray the increasing costs of living.
The Governor said that she has noticed that there are a lot of idle and underutilized lands in the province. "If properly utilized even a 1,000 square meter land can mean a lot to these families." She added. (PIA)
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