DA-12 gives incentives to cassava farmers

The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Southwestern Mindanao (Region 12) has launched a new incentive scheme in a bid to lure more farmers in the region to venture into cassava production.

Tommy Ala, DA Region 12 executive director, said in a statement they are currently offering local cassava producers the opportunity of availing cassava chipper and granulator equipment should they embark into commercial production of cassava.

Ala said the incentive scheme is being implemented by the agency through its flagship Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) Corn Program, which covers the strengthening of various support services for the commercial production of cassava in the country.

Under the program, Ala said cassava producers in the region may qualify to avail of the production incentives if they have an existing production area of at least 100 hectares, a warehouse and a dryer.

He said at least three cassava producers based in South Cotabato have already availed of the production incentives after completing some program requirements.

The initial beneficiaries were a cassava assembler based in Norala town, the local government of Tampakan and the Central Mindanao Integrated Agricultural Research Center (CEMIARC) in Tupi town.

The beneficiaries received a cassava chipper and granulator that is presently worth at least P60,000 to P80,000 in the markets.

Ala said the cassava chipper has a capacity of chipping 200 kilograms of cassava per hour while the granulator can process at least 300 kilograms on an hourly basis.

Last year, corporate giant San Miguel Corp. signified to develop some 20,000 hectares of cassava production areas in the region, which it earlier identified as among the suitable areas for the commercial production of the crop.

Region 12 covers the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato.

In Region 12, cassava produce are processed for food and industrial purposes like flour, starch and feeds.

Ala said they initially signed a partnership agreement with San Miguel, which reportedly offered to provide a ready market for cassava produce from the area.

DA has been specifically promoting the planting of the high-yielding KU-50 cassava variety, which could produce 40 to 50 metric tons (MT) per hectare.

Region 12 currently produces some 17,000 MT of cassava annually, at least 15,000 MT of which are from South Cotabato province.