BUKIDNON'S 50,000 HECTARES
FOR VEGETABLE PRODUCTION
Talakag, Bukidnon - At the height of the vegetable crisis in Metro Manila in 2018 when prices in the market rose by 300% following a typhoon, I was told of a place in Bukidnon where farmers produced vegetables at very low prices.
At the height of the vegetable crisis in Metro Manila, Carrots were sold for P300 per kilo while the prices of cabbage, pechay and others were three times higher than the usual market price.
I was then Secretary of Agriculture and the need to stabilize the vegetable prices was urgent so I flew to Cagayan De Oro City and drove to the mountainous area of Bukidnon where I saw for myself the vast vegetable production area owned mostly by the Talaandig tribe.
The farmers grew all kind of vegetables but their problem was their access to the market.
Immediately, we launched the TienDA Project of the Dept. of Agriculture and brought tons of vegetables from Bukidnon to Metro Manila, along with the farmers who produced these.
Carrots were sold for only P80 per kilo while other vegetables were priced three times lower than those in Metro Manila markets.
After just one staging of the TienDA, the prices of vegetables in Metro Manila stabilized.
To show my appreciation to the support we received from Bukidnon farmers, I went back to Talakag several times and then later met with the mayors of the four towns in the region - Impasugong, Talakag, Sumilao and Lantapan.
A loan facility through the DA's Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) was opened while farm equipment and work animals were given by the DA.
That was the birth of the ImTaSuLa Complex which we designed to be the vegetable production area of Mindanao with 50,000-hectares.
Shortly before I left the DA, the Universal Robina Corporation (URC) of the Gokongwei Family started a potato production project in at least three areas of the country, including the ImTaSuLa complex.
URC imported potato planting materials from Canada and gave these out to farmers' groups in support of DA's production program
The Miarayon farmers surprised everybody when they harvested a record 40-metric tons in one hectare, probably a national record.
This is an area which could produce enough high value vegetables not only for the whole country but also for the rest of the countries in the East Asean region.
But government must sustain its efforts to help the farmers because the productivity of Filipino farmers will depend greatly on profitability.
I visited the area again last week and talked to a young tribal farmer, Ryan Danio, who leads the vegetable farmers of Miarayon, Talakag.
Danio, a Tala-andig native, is an agriculture graduate from the Central Mindanao University who majored in Agronomy. He chose to go back to his village to help his tribe learn new agricultural practices.
This week, I will again go back to the area with a possible investor whom I will convince to set up a vegetable buying station and packing plant.
What I envision is a program which would readily absorb the farmers' produce at a fair price, pack the vegetables and distribute these all over Mindanao and perhaps the nearby provinces of the Visayas in a sustainable supply chain.
#BeautyBountyOfMindanao!
#KungGustoMaramingParaan!
#MindanaoCouldFeedFilipinos!
(This video production was prepared by the Beauty and Bounty of Mindanao Media Team.)