REMAI ALEJADO
News contributor
Provincial Press Bureau
PAGADIAN CITY--Congressman Antonio “Tony” Cerilles foresees the immense participation of the agriculture sector in mitigating the hard impact of the looming financial slump hitting the country by next year.
Cerilles, who attended the Christmas Party of Capitol officials and employees last Dec. 19, said the farming sector should intensify its efforts in generating employment or income for themselves in order to cushion the blow of global economic crisis.
The congressman pointed out that most of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) abroad are working as domestic helpers and with the recession hitting the US, UK, Germany and Japan, a large part of these people will be forced to go home.
This shift would inadvertently swell the unemployed in the country.
Cerilles then consoled that in Zamboanga del Sur, for example, if people will only cash in on cassava planting that advocates organic farming, such an income generating pursuit would do well to the unemployed.
Tony added that the province already have trained livelihood coordinators who will assist farmers in all 681 villages around the province, providing them the methods, technology and experience in utilizing even small farmlands into productivity.
Thus, a “Cerilles method” of farming cassava will be taught, which means that a farmer with at least 10,000 square meters will be able to earn money for the whole year with planting only cassava.
Supervising Coordinator Allan Cabatingan says a farmer can do it step by step and may start cultivating 1,000 square meters in the beginning, adding organic fertilizer before planting the cassava stalks, until he covers his whole 10,000 square meter land.
This method has been applied by Dumingag, one of the towns which has the largest number of lands planted with cassava at present.
“This gives them no excuse of having failed to plant for lack of space and planting material,” Cabatingan said.
Cassava grows and matures within ten months. By the time the last 1,000 square meters is planted with cassava, the farmer also begins to harvest those he planted ten months earlier.
“This explains how a farmer earns ten-fold from his one hectare land for the whole year,” Cabatingan concluded.
The cassava farmer is likewise assured of selling his produce since a sure and tenable buyer, which is San Miguel Corporation, will buy his cassava at a hefty price per kilo.