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Villar Pushes Oil Palm in Davao Oriental
Villar Pushes Oil Palm in Davao Oriental
21/08/2013 (BusinessWorld Online Edition) - Oil palm should be among the preferred crops for planting in areas ravaged by typhoon Pablo in Davao Oriental, Sen. Cynthia A. Villar told local media.
Ms. Villar, head of the Senate’s agriculture committee, visited Davao Oriental last weekend and distributed 100 bags of fertilizers, corn, and vegetable seeds to farmers in the town of Cateel after the groundbreaking ceremony for a site where 50 houses donated by former Senator Manuel B. Villar, Jr. will be built.
Ms. Villar said that she met with farmer-leaders and plans to establish a program promoting oil palm in some areas previously planted with coconut.
Oil palm, she said, will live three and a half years, and inter-cropping with corn and cacao between the trees could be promoted.
“We are talking of about 30,000 hectares for oil palm in the towns of Cateel, Boston and Baganga,” Ms. Villar said.
According to the senator, oil palm is projected to employ one person for every hectare, making up to 30,000 jobs of direct employment. She also said that each oil palm farmer would earn P7,000-P14,000 monthly.
Meanwhile, Philip S. Dizon, local businessman and American Chamber of Commerce -- Davao president, has sent a letter to Gloria D. Steele, mission director of the United States Agency for International Development in the Philippines, with the suggestion that the agency send an expert for the region’s rehabilitation.
“What should be the staple crop, or the bread and butter, for those provinces after being hit by typhoon Pablo? You have to give them direction... give them the materials and technology. What is best suited for each specific environment?” Mr. Dizon explained.
He said he is recommending the planting of cacao, coffee, rubber, and fruit trees in typhoon-affected areas.
“The initiative will give Pablo victims sustainable livelihood. These [crops] are not perishable. If off season, the farmers could sell at higher price,” Mr. Dizon said.
He noted that corn can be planted on flat land while cacao and coffee can be planted in the hilly areas
Ms. Villar, head of the Senate’s agriculture committee, visited Davao Oriental last weekend and distributed 100 bags of fertilizers, corn, and vegetable seeds to farmers in the town of Cateel after the groundbreaking ceremony for a site where 50 houses donated by former Senator Manuel B. Villar, Jr. will be built.
Ms. Villar said that she met with farmer-leaders and plans to establish a program promoting oil palm in some areas previously planted with coconut.
Oil palm, she said, will live three and a half years, and inter-cropping with corn and cacao between the trees could be promoted.
“We are talking of about 30,000 hectares for oil palm in the towns of Cateel, Boston and Baganga,” Ms. Villar said.
According to the senator, oil palm is projected to employ one person for every hectare, making up to 30,000 jobs of direct employment. She also said that each oil palm farmer would earn P7,000-P14,000 monthly.
Meanwhile, Philip S. Dizon, local businessman and American Chamber of Commerce -- Davao president, has sent a letter to Gloria D. Steele, mission director of the United States Agency for International Development in the Philippines, with the suggestion that the agency send an expert for the region’s rehabilitation.
“What should be the staple crop, or the bread and butter, for those provinces after being hit by typhoon Pablo? You have to give them direction... give them the materials and technology. What is best suited for each specific environment?” Mr. Dizon explained.
He said he is recommending the planting of cacao, coffee, rubber, and fruit trees in typhoon-affected areas.
“The initiative will give Pablo victims sustainable livelihood. These [crops] are not perishable. If off season, the farmers could sell at higher price,” Mr. Dizon said.
He noted that corn can be planted on flat land while cacao and coffee can be planted in the hilly areas