CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA) — President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., together with Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr., will lead the distribution of over P550 million in agricultural assistance to farmers in Misamis Oriental on April 22 in Barangay San Isidro, Balingasag.
“Farmers cooperatives and associations (FCAs) and local government units from Cagayan de Oro City and Misamis Oriental received various agricultural interventions from the DA-RFO-10 and its attached agency, the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (DA-PHilMech), and from a public-private partnership focused on accelerating the development of the coconut industry,” said Regional Executive Director Jose Apollo Y. Pacamalan.
The assistance includes the construction of the P90.8-million Mapulog-Tuboran farm-to-market road in Naawan, along with P32.2 million in machinery, equipment, facilities, and other farm inputs.
The DA-PHilMech will also distribute P78.1 million worth of rice farming technologies under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).
Boosting public-private partnership
The DA will launch a P350-million Integrated Coconut Processing Facility on the First Community Cooperative (FICCO) property.
The facility will process products such as coconut flour, virgin coconut oil, skim milk, coconut water, activated carbon, and cocopallets. It aims to increase the farm gate price of coconuts from P8–P9 to P16–P18.
“Under the SUnRISE (Solving Unemployment through Rural Industrialization, Sustainable and Enterprise) project, it promotes the processing of coconut products beyond traditional copra,” Pacamalan said.
FICCO will also lead the implementation of the Rice Processing System II, which includes a multi-stage rice mill and four recirculating dryers to reduce postharvest losses and improve productivity.
Pacamalan will present a proposal for replicating these models in other coconut-producing areas in Northern Mindanao and nearby regions.
In addition to the agricultural turnover, the President will inaugurate port extension projects and preside over the Regional Development Council meeting in Cagayan de Oro City. (RTP/DA-10/PIA-10)
