Read full article by Manuel Cayon @ Business Mirror
DAVAO CITY—Davao del Norte is set to go into the massive production of sorghum after the province received tons of hybrid sorghum seeds from a company based in the United States.
Davao del Norte Gov. Edwin Jubahib made the announcement after he agreed to include his province in the pilot areas for sorghum production. Jubahib said sorghum will be a good alternative for banana farms ravaged by the dreaded Panama disease and has the potential to increase the income of farmers.
Jubahib noted that a company from Thailand has earlier made an assurance that it will buy sorghum from the Philippines.
The governor was part of a small delegation headed by Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Chairman Emmanuel F. Piñol that forged a memorandum of agreement with Texas-based Scott Seed Co. for the sorghum production in Davao del Norte, and the Bangsamoro provinces.
The mission received P5 million worth of sorghum seeds from Coby Kriegshauser, the CEO and owner of Scott Seed Co., in a signing ceremony held on December 17, at the Philippine Consulate General in Houston, Texas, the province’s information office said.
Piñol described the initiative as a breakthrough and would be a game changer in the government’s anti-
poverty drive.
“MinDA’s sorghum development program would be a game changer in the fight against rural poverty,” he said.
He said a US vessel would carry 25 metric tons of sorghum seeds to
Mindanao, and set sail from Galveston, Texas. The ship is expected to arrive in the Port of Davao, in February 2020.
MinDA included Davao del Norte as a pilot area for sorghum following the commitment of Jubahib to allot a wide area for the planting of the protein-rich crop. The province’s information office said Jubahib committed the unutilized Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title areas, particularly in the tribal town of Talaingod, and the banana farms affected by Fusarium wilt for the program.
Jubahib said he expects a “dramatic turnaround” in the plight of indigenous people communities when the program starts in February.
In October, Piñol said a US company will donate seeds and pitched for the planting of sorghum in banana farms that were struck by Fusarium wilt. The MinDA chief told farmers that a Thai company is looking for supplies and is willing to buy sorghum at P12 per kilogram.
The former agriculture chief presented the option to those who attended the Banana Fusarium Wilt Management Forum in Tagum City, in October. He said sorghum is an ideal crop to grow while banana plantations recover from the devastation caused by Fusarium wilt.
