AGGIE UPDATES

Bountiful onion harvest forecast

BONGABON, Nueva Ecija -- This town’s 2,850 onion farmers are bullish about the coming harvest which was described as "bountiful."

Bongabon Mayor Amelia A. Gamilla cited the support for farmers of Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap in terms of seeds, a multi-million-peso irrigation network and portable irrigation generators, and coupons for P250 fertilizers subsidy.

It was also noted the importation and smuggling of onions have been limited to almost nil.

On Sept. 2 on the occasion of the 112th Unang Sigaw ng Nueva Ecija, President Arroyo distributed P1.2 billion in loans and subsidies to members of 48 farm cooperatives in the province.

After the distribution, the President asked the Novo Ecijano farmers to help feed the nation.

Gov. Aurelio M. Umali said Nueva Ecija is helping meet the country’s need for dollars through export of several agricultural products such as brown rice, rice, coffee and handicraft. -- MV

Goat raising thriving in IlocosVIGAN CITY -- Goat production has become a thriving enterprise in parts of the Ilocos Region, thanks to a Department of Agriculture-supported R and D project.

Called “Community-based Participatory Action Research (CPAR) Goat Agribusiness Development Project in Region I,” the undertaking is being implemented by the DA-Regional Field Unit I-Ilocos Integrated Agricultural Research Center.

A report on the CPAR-ABDP won the AFMA (Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act) Best Paper R and D Award – Development Research category given during the 2008 National Research Symposium.

NRS is an annual competition sponsored by the DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research headed by Director Nicomedes P. Eleazar that gives due recognition to outstanding researchers and their scientific works. It is participated in by researchers of DA bureaus and agencies and state colleges and universities.

The scientific paper on the goat project was authored by DA-RFU I-ILIARC researchers headed by Melinda Calumpit.

Through the project, goat production has considerably become popular as an important
component of Ilocandia’s agricultural system. It has benefited farmer-partners in terms of bigger goat stocks and increased income, and generated revenue for the local governments, the researchers noted.

“The project’s capability building activities have enabled the farmers to gain more knowledge and have better understanding and appreciation of goat production technologies which they eventually applied in their own goat farms,” they stated.

From 2005 to 2007, 586 farmers from 42 barangays of six towns in Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur, and Ilocos Norte had adopted the project.

The CPAR-ABDP was further considerably boosted by the establishment of three goat multiplier farms in Alaminos City, Sta. Maria, both in Pangasinan; and Candon City, Ilocos Sur. – Rudy A Fernandez