Davao pushes yam farming to meet market demand

THE City Agriculture Office (CAO) of Davao is pushing for the development of purple yam (ube) tissue culture -- a first in Mindanao.

In the last harvest alone, a two-hectare yam plantation in Catigan, Toril is said to have posted a P800,000 revenue.

In an attempt to replicate the farm's success and to further improve the production of purple yam in Davao City, the CAO promotes the progression of tissue breeding currently done in Malagos culture laboratory in Baguio District.

"The purple yam seedlings and plant materials all come from Eastern Visayas, which is a bit of difficulty for us in our goal to reach the city-wide target of 50 tons per cropping as requested by the ice cream manufacturer, Selecta. This is why we're really trying to develop the tissue culture for ube here in the region," said CAO chief Val Turtur.

The ube farm in Catigan, managed by beneficiaries of Gawad Kalinga housing project in the area, is financed by RMF Food Corp., the maker of Selecta Ice Cream products.

The farm, dedicated to the production of organic raw purple yam to be processed as flavoring for Selecta Ice Cream products, is expanding to 10 hectares, producing two tons of yam per hectare to gradually meet the market demand.