Vol. XXII, No. 77 [ BusinessWorld Online ]
Tuesday, November 11, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
DAVAO CITY — Davao Oriental is offering 100,000 hectares to prospective Saudi Arabian investors who visited the province late last month.
In her discussion with the Saudi delegation, Gov. Corazon N. Malanyaon said in an official statement that the province has enough area for investments in rice and corn.
Ahmed M. AlSadhan of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry told Ms. Malanyaon that his government wants to invest in agriculture in Mindanao, specifically in rice and corn. "We are very much interested to know more about your local varieties of rice and corn and we also will like to know about the availability of lands here for rice and corn production," a statement quoted Mr. AlSadhan, head of the seven-member Saudi delegation, as saying.
Dashiele Indelible, Ms. Malanyaon’s consultant in agricultural development, said the Saudi team wanted to plant a special rice variety that will be brought to the Middle East. "They were fascinated by our highly fertile lands. We even told them that our farms here need not be irrigated because we have more than enough rainfall," Mr. Indelible said in the same statement.
"We must shift from subsistence farming to enterprise farming," said Ms. Malanyaon.
Aside from rice and corn, Ms. Malanyaon said the province is also suitable to mango, banana, coconut, cassava, rubber, palm oil, coffee, abaca and livestock production.
She told the visitors that the province is among the few producers of the seven-tonner rice, one of the premium rice varieties in the local market, and that its Banay-banay rice is considered the best in quality in Mindanao.
The provincial government is looking at adding about 15,000 hectares in rice land. Last year, the province was able to produce 28,555 metric tons, or roughly 44% of its rice requirement. — CQF