CASSAVA PRODUCTION. Representatives of 40 farming groups in North Cotabato gets a much-deserved cassava production training at the provincial grounds in Kidapawan City on Wednesday (June 24, 2020). The three-day cassava production training (streamer inset) is being facilitated by Davao City-based San Miguel Corporation and Ricor Mills. (Photo courtesy of North Cotabato PIO)
COTABATO CITY – North Cotabato farmers are recipients of the latest cassava farming technology to improve production, courtesy of the provincial government, San Miguel Corporation (SMC) and Ricor Mills.
“We welcome this transfer of technology from private firms to farmers in North Cotabato, we treasure it and we will sustain this endeavor,” North Cotabato Gov. Nancy Catamco told SMC and Rico Mills officials present during the opening day of the three-day cassava technology training on Wednesday.
At least 40 cassava farmer groups in the province are currently beneficiaries of the cassava farming technology assistance from the Davao City-based SMC and the Ricor Mills from Maramag, Bukidnon.
Catamco said the farmers will be trained on various levels of cassava farming from land preparation, planting distance, fertilization, pest and disease control and harvesting strategies.
Aside from cassava farming, the farmers will also be provided with marketing opportunities after the training, said Noel Carlo Simene, a Ricor Mills representative.
“All over Mindanao, this opportunity is only provided to North Cotabato because the province has the potential of producing high-quality cassava,” Simene said.
To ensure marketing areas, the provincial government and Ricor Mills agreed that the latter will prioritize cassava products from the province starting from the first harvest season following the training activity.
Aside from the training, the farmer-participants were also given free planting materials, fertilizer, and technical assistance by the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPAG).
North Cotabato provincial board member Marias Krista Piñol, chairperson of the Sangguniang Panlungsod committee on agriculture, urged local farmers to add cassava production in their agricultural endeavor to improve income in the middle of the planting season of rice or corn. (PNA)
