DA to spice up cassava production in 3 ARMM provinces

ZAMBOANGA CITY, The Department of Agriculture (DA) will distribute 46 units of cassava grater and presser to the three island provinces of the Autonomous Area in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to boost cassava manufacturing in these areas.

The cassava graters and pressers, which were promised by Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, can be distributed before the year ends to the provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

Edgardo Tabal, regional Agricultural Extension Program Division officer-in-charge, mentioned the distribution of the tools would help the cassava farmers within the three ARMM provinces enhance their income.

Cassava is plentiful within the three provinces as a lot of the farmers plant the crop as their main livelihood in addition to for domestic consumption.

Cassava is broadly grown within the three provinces among the various crops on alluvial, sloping and foothill areas, and some farmers intercrop it with coconut or with upland rice and corn.

Dr. Algerico Mariscal of the Philippine Root Crops Analysis and Training Center in Leyte State College said that the ARMM has the most important consumption of cassava within the nation based on the data of the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics.

ARMM is followed by Zamboanga Peninsula, Bicol, Northern Mindanao, Sorsogon, and the Nationwide Capital Area, Mariscal said.

Tabal said cassava is included as one of many country’s major crops and is also identified beneath the DA’s Food Staple and Stability Program instead that will scale back rice importation.

Cassava may be processed into totally different food products with increased economic value.

Cassava can also be used within the manufacture of commercial products like as a raw materials within the manufacturing of ethanol aside from being used as food and feed ingredients.

Tabal said they just lately performed a Expertise Coaching and Program Orientation on Cassava for Meals Undertaking in this city.

The topics included cassava varieties for meals, cropping system, cultural management, postharvest practices, and cassava meals preparations.

Except for Mariscal, the coaching’s different useful resource speaker was Dr. Candido Damo, nationwide cassava project chief of DA.

Damo said the DA has set a separate funding help to promote cassava and different root crops as major products.