04/07/2011 (Sun.Star) - THE Provincial Government of Cotabato, through the Philippine Palm Oil Development Council Inc., will hold the 7th National Palm Oil Congress on August 25-26 at JC Complex, National Highway, Kidapawan City.

Around 500 palm oil planters, investors, bankers, agricultural leaders, academe, government line agencies and local government units are expected to attend the event themed, "Promote Peace, Economic Prosperity and Overcome Poverty thru Oil Palm Farming."

North Cotabato Governor Emmylou J. Taliño-Mendoza said the budget of the event is big and yet it is nothing compared to the magnificent return since this will provide opportunities that will surely boost the economic industry of the province.

"It is a manifestation of our commitment in pursuing strong investment policy. Palm oil industry is just one of the potential investments that the province is supporting. In fact, we continually provide venues for many interesting parties to visit areas in the province being facilitated by the Cotabato Provincial Investment Promotion Council," Mendoza said.

Palm oil plantation in North Cotabato is now almost 6,000 hectares, of which bulk of this is located in the municipalities of Tulunan and Mlang with 1,365 and 1,021 hectares, respectively.

With this huge number of plantation in the province, several stakeholders like Agumil, Kenram, RNF and Cargill have engaged and supported the planting of oil palm in the province. These industries provided technical support to palm oil planters, researches and evaluations on potential sites.

North Cotabato also invested in the "plant now pay later" program.

There are presently 533 growers who have benefited from the program covering 1,762 hectares. (PR)