Batangas cooperative to work on P4-M moringa project
A farmers’ cooperative in Batangas will receive P4 million for the development of its moringa project, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.
The DA approved the Malvar Organic Farmers Agriculture Cooperative’s (MOFAC) project, which entails establishing a nursery for malunggay seedlings, which will be distributed along with organic fertilizers and inputs to participating 150 to 200 farmers.
It also involves the conduct of proper training on processing technologies for dry food grade malunggay powder and dried malunggay leaves.
Aside from the moringa project, the cooperative pitched the P20-million vanilla project in Malvar town and the P3.71-million Bayanihan Agribusiness Cluster proposed project, which will benefit about 150 farmers from the same town in its initial phase.
“The importance [of the projects] is basically the upliftment of the farmers, poor farmers especially, because of this cooperative. Through this cooperative, their production will be boosted and their income will be increased. We catalyze, we stimulate the farmers,” said MOFAC chair Reynaldo Lantin.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar reminded MOFAC members of the need for agricultural projects that are in line with the “Plant, Plant, Plant” Program, Part 2 launched in March this year.
The second phase of this food security program aims to counter the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine crisis and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
It mainly focuses on responding to the high fertilizer prices, promoting urban and peri-urban agriculture, enhancing local feed production using raw materials, boosting aquaculture and fisheries, and mobilizing food through the Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita.
The global crisis resulted in the skyrocketing prices of farm input prices. In the Philippines, the cost of fertilizer has gone up by almost P3,000 per 50-kilo bag.
Dar earlier said if the current fertilizer levels used by the local farmers, especially for rice production, is not sustained, this year’s palay output might decline to about 1.1 million metric tons.
“The next six months will be more critical. The inflation rate is rising. It’s now reaching 4 percent. So there is global inflation and recession; the stagflation is there. We are mitigating the impact of inflation on agriculture,” he said.
