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Saturday, February 04, 2006
Calumpang couple bares success of CDC-aided farm
By Dante M. Fabian
CLARK ECOZONE -- Mushroom farming has been proven to be such a profitable livelihood venture to a couple who received financing assistance from the Clark Development Corporation for a 50-square-meter farm in Barangay Calumpang inside the sub-zone of the Clark Special Economic Zone.
The Community Extension Services Office of Clark Development Corporation (Ceso-CDC) reported that Bong and Fanny Sicat sold more than 400 kilos of mushroom cultivated in just six months from about 50-square meter plantation.
The P4,000-peso venture was part of a livelihood outreach program of
CDC.
In a report to CDC President Antonio R. Ng, harvests from the small mushroom plantation in Barangay Calumpang are being sold to Mabalacat market at a wholesale price of P100 per kilo and P150 on retail.
Ceso Manager Fely Rondollo said the project started June 4 last year and two weeks later, more than 19 kilos of mushroom were harvested from a single plot out of the 5-plot row.
The mushroom project was the idea the couple who heard similar success stories in mushroom cultivation from other areas but could not venture due to lack of capital to pursue the livelihood project.
After conducting a research on the profitability of the mushroom project, Rondollo said the CESO has allowed the release of P4,000-taken from the savings in a feeding program-as a non-interest loan to start the livelihood project in Barangay Calumpang.
And in three months, recipients of the livelihood project were able to return in full the P4,000, and the additional P1,000 also loaned to them to bankroll cashew nut project as another livelihood venture of the couple.
Bong also reported he was able to purchase a tricycle to bring produce to Mabalacat public market using part of his income from the mushroom project. With the assistance of the Rotary Club Clark Field, the mushrooms are also being marketed to Korea House Restaurant and Four Seasons Restaurant both located in Clark.
Ng was also informed that the recipient of the livelihood project now earns an average of P8,000 per month.
With the success of the mushroom project and a growing market in
Pampanga, Ng instructed CESO to replicate the success in Calumpang by conducting another livelihood project study for the residents of Sitio Target in Barangay Sapang Bato in Angeles City, which has about three hectares of uncultivated flat lands.
Ceso study showed that if the areas could be turned into a mushroom plantation, 15 families could easily earn about P10,000 a month because of the rising demand for mushrooms in Pampanga and nearby provinces, including Metro Manila.
(February 4, 2006 issue)
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