Agriculture department conducts research on vegetable organic farming

[S.Annadana]

Agriculture department conducts research on vegetable organic farming
by Vency D. Bulayungan

Kiangan, Ifuga (9 August) -- The Provincial Agriculture Office in coordination with its municipal and regional offices conducted a community-based participatory action research on vegetable organic farming here.

Marissa Bulong, the study leader and an employee of the Provincial Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Office (PAENRO) said that the project which has a total budget of P800,000.00 will be implemented at Barangays Baguinge and Tuplac.

According to Bulong, the project will promote the adoption of improved vegetable production techniques by training 26 farmers using Farmers Field School (FFS) approach. Baguinge and Tuplac are well suited to vegetable production where approximately 370 and 90 households respectively plant vegetables for home consumption and for income.

Catherine Buenaventura, the Project leader and also working at the PAENRO said that the project will increase the income of 16 households in Baguinge and 10 households in Tuplac through their adoption of improved vegetable production techniques on 57,500 square meters of land that increase profit margins by 20%.

She explained that the project will improve resource management capabilities of rural communities and promote growing organically produced vegetables by displaying this product/harvest in the local market to encourage other farmers to grow organic vegetables in their respective farms.

Buenaventura disclosed that their office will establish 40 demonstration sites, 20 in each of the two barangays which will focus on organic vegetable production. Snap beans, pechay, string beans, tomato and eggplant will be grown by the producers' group since these are vegetables grown in the area which the proposed farmer beneficiaries want to study using the Integrated Pest Management (IPM)-FFS approach and other improved vegetable organic farming technologies.

She further said that they will conduct farmers' classes, trainings and cross-farm visit; capability building/institutional development and marketing assistance. (PIA-Ifugao) [top]