Mt. Province could revive and develop strawberry production

Bontoc, Mountain Province – Once a strawberry production area, Mt. Province could revive and develop its strawberry farms through the participation of 96 graduates of the the School-on-Air (SOA) on Strawberry Production and Management of the Department of Agriculture (DA) – Cordillera.

Said graduate were urged on Friday, December 4 by DA-CAR OIC Regional Executive Director Cameron P. Odsey SOA to utilize the knowledge gained from the program in reviving and developing strawberry production in their respective areas.

Strawberry production according to Odsey is a viable source of income for farmers in some municipalities in the province.

In a report of Erwin Batnag of Mountain Province PLGU, he said the DA-CAR funded program was earlier launched in the province, partnering with the Provincial Government’s Provincial Agriculture Office for the implementation and the Municipal Agriculture Offices of the five identified strawberry-growing municipalities; Bauko, Besao, Bontoc, Sabangan and Sagada.

As told by the director, SOA aims to guide local farmers in strawberry production since the berry that grows in the cool areas of the region has been eyed to have a great potential in the agriculture business.

During his speech, he also relayed the message of DA Secretary William Dar giving importance of specializing in rare agricultural commodities being grown in the region like the heirloom rice, Arabica Coffee and strawberry. This according to him will avoid “competitions” with products which came from other regions.

Odsey further told that their office in partnership with the LGUs will continue to work looking for feasible interventions to help local farmers.

Provincial Administrator Johnny Co, representing Governor Bonifacio Lacwasan Jr. in a message then acknowledged DA’s programs being implemented in the province benefiting the local farmers. Further told by him is that the SOA on Strawberry Production will give opportunities for its recipients.

The provincial administrator also recognized the efforts of the Provincial Agriculture Office and the municipal LGU counterparts for taking part in the implementation as this made the processes easier for the recipients.

Present during the ceremony were DA-RFO-CAR Regional High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP) Focal Person Joan D. Bacbac, Agriculture Programs Coordinating Officer (APCO) Beverly T. Pekas, Mountain Province Assistant APCO Pedro Pinos-an, Provincial Agriculturist Dominga A. Cabatu, Mayor Franklin Odsey and mayors and officials from the recipient municipalities.

Meantime, PLGU report stated that Radyo Sagada in Poblacion, Sagada received a certificate of recognition for airing the broadcast materials while the municipal coordinators received certificates for their efforts as the program implementers in their respective municipality.

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