DEMO FARM. Taiwan inaugurates its five-hectare demo farm at Barangay Sapang Maragul in Tarlac City on Friday (Dec. 15, 2023). The demo farm is part of a multi-year program that seeks to boost production and increase the income of Filipino farmer groups in Central Luzon. (PNA photo by Joyce Rocamora)
MANILA – Taiwan has formally opened a demo farm in Tarlac on Friday as part of a multi-year program that seeks to boost production and increase the income of Filipino farmer groups in Central Luzon.
The farm operations are fully funded by Taiwan through the International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) and will serve as the implementation site of its Agri-Cluster Consolidation Cooperation (ACCC) project in the Philippines.
The opening follows the establishment of the Taiwan Technical Mission (TTM) in the country last March 2022, the third of its kind in Southeast Asia next to Indonesia and Thailand.
“As we all know, food security has become a global concern amidst the worldwide pressures of inflation stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic, continued war between Russia and Ukraine, and accelerating climate change,” Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in the Philippines Representative Wallace Minn-Gan Chow said during the inauguration ceremony at Barangay Sapang Maragul, Tarlac City.
“As the closest neighbor of the Philippines, Taiwan has realized the importance of developing a strategic partnership between our two countries on food production and safety,” he added.
Tom Peng, ACCC project coordinator, said the TTM has identified three initial farmer groups in Pampanga, Bulacan, and Tarlac, with hopes of expanding to more groups.
Since partnering with TTM, the less than 20-member Tabon San Jose Farmers Association in Pampanga has already generated PHP860,000 in six months by integrating a new agribusiness model.
“We just want the farmers’ income to increase because it’s really important for the farmers to get sustainability -- it is our first priority at the TTM and we want to see that their life is improved,” Peng told the Philippine News Agency.
Under the ACCC, the ICDF is also working with the Department of Agriculture to provide beneficiary farmers with new and adaptive high-value crop management models and mentor them on ways to supply their own seedlings.
The ACCC will also introduce smart agriculture and share best practices on diagnosis of cultivation, harvesting, post-harvest processing, storage, packaging, marketing, and organizational management.
It will feature varieties of fruits and vegetables that are climate resilient, including “heat-resistant cauliflower and cabbage”.
In addition, Peng said the TTM is ready to supply seedlings to cover at least 150 hectares in times of disasters, annually.
“In our demo farm, not only it is a training site but we will also provide seedlings for disaster recovery, especially during the typhoon season to help the farmers recover their income in a short time,” he said.
Through the TTM demonstration farm, Taiwan hopes to introduce its modern agricultural technology to policymakers and researchers and bring investors to Central Luzon.
Also present during the inauguration were Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General Lien Yu-Ping, DA officials, Tarlac Governor Susan Yap, former Agriculture Secretary William Dar, and Manila Economic and Cultural Office Chairman Silvestre Bello III, among others. (PNA)
