SULTAN MASTURA, Maguindanao, Philippines (PNA) - Twenty-five farmers from a remote village in Maguindanao province on Wednesday proved they, too, can produce high variety onions similar to those being produced by farmers in Luzon.
They also proved that Mindanao's fertile land could produce high value onions, according to Sultan Mastura municipal agriculture officer Ibrahim Alimpang.
The 25 farmers are beneficiaries of the Food for Training Project funded by the Department of Agriculture-Maguindanao and the UN World Food Programme in Sitio Guiate, Barangay Solon.
On Monday, the farmers had an "onion harvest festival" to show they can produce marketable onions. The festival was attended by Agricultural Specialist Mao Baraguir of Growth with Equity in Mindanao, field technician Darius Miana of East-West Seed Company and Alimpang.
Baraguir said the techno-demo area in Barangay Solon is 70-square meter-wide.
The new variety onions are sold at P68 per kilo at local market.
Agriculture officials said a one-hectare farm of "Primo" variety of onions could give a farmer a P400,000 income from an input worth P100,000 provided proper technologies are applied from soil preparation to cultivation to planting to maintenance and harvest.
Provincial Agriculture officer Daud Lagasi that with the way Solon farmers implement the project it can be the sole distributor of onions in Cotabato City and nearby areas.
Baraguir said the project may be extended to other poor communities in the province with ready help from the UN World Food Programme.
source: Manila Bulletin
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