Tuesday, August 4, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES [ BusinessWorld Online ]
GENERAL SANTOS CITY — About 20,000 hectares in Central Mindanao are available for more cassava plantations, the local Agriculture department office said.
The Department of Agriculture, through the Central Mindanao Integrated Agricultural Research Center in Tupi, South Cotabato, and San Miguel Corp. have agreed on a partnership to boost cassava production in the area, Tommy A. Ala, regional Agriculture department director, told reporters here. "This crop can provide alternative income to the farmers and can generate employment," Mr. Ala said.
He said the Agriculture department has developed a high-yielding cassava variety, KU-50, that could produce 40-50 metric tons (MT) per hectare.
The existing cassava variety grown in Central Mindanao, the bulk of which is in South Cotabato province, yields between 20-30 MT/ha, said Dannie L. Baldado, San Miguel’s cassava area coordinator. Current cassava plantations in the region, he added, total 3,500 hectares and San Miguel alone is targeting to increase it to 4,500 hectares next year.
The region produces 17,000 MT a year, at least 15,000 MT of which come from South Cotabato, he said.
Freshly harvested cassava now sells at P2.50 per kilogram, and more than double this for the dried product, he added.
Early this month, the regional Agriculture office and San Miguel held a cassava harvest festival in Tupi, South Cotabato to jumpstart their partnership on this crop.
"Cassava is food and [money earner because it] is a source of [biofuel] energy, and could be used for other industrial purposes like flour, starch and feeds," Mr. Ala said.
Joel Cadiao, a representative from the national Agriculture office, said cassava, along with corn and soybeans, is a major focus of the agency under the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani program. "These crops support the livestock and poultry industry in the country and they are also sources of food," he said.
Official data show that cassava yield was highest in South Cotabato at 26.7 MT per hectare, followed by Misamis Oriental at 24 MT/ha. The national average yield of cassava is only 9 MT/ha, but the Agriculture department targets to raise it to 21 MT/ha by 2014. — Romer S. Sarmiento
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