Saturday, March 04, 2006
Sarangani eyes 1,200 hectares of banana field
BANANA growing in Sarangani province got a big push after farmers accessed a government credit window for the development of 1,200 hectares of cardava plantation in the area.
Fred Dumasis, president of the Sarangani Federation of Fruit Industry Association Inc., said the six-year banana development program in the province is expected to generate P167 million annually and employ 12,000 workers in upstream and downstream industries.
"We have compiled hundreds of loan applications from at least five towns in the province for the development of cardava plantations," Dumasis said, with Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corp. (Quedancor) providing the funding for the project.
Remedios Balingit, Quedancor Sarangani district supervisor, said some P4.4 million would soon be released to farmers in Malungon town for the propagation of 72.5 hectares of cardava variety, locally known as "sabah."
Under an agreement with Sarangani Governor Miguel Rene Dominguez in late 2004, Quedancor would extend P80 million loan for the cultivation of cardava banana in the province over a six-year period.
For 2005, Dominguez said the towns of Malungon, Glan, and Maasim should have received loan assistance worth P34 million.
But lack of funds hampered the government financing institution from delivering the goods, with only P365,000 released to farmers in Malungon last year.
Admonishing the government financing institution in a recent meeting, Dominguez said, "We cannot afford to ignore the sanctity of government contracts."
The governor signed the memorandum of agreement with Quedancor president and chief executive officer Nelson Buenaflor in December 2004. (RBS)
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(February 27, 2006 issue)
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