THE Deparment of Agriculture (DA) in Davao Region is set to start the distribution of a new banana variety seedlings, called the giant cavendish tissue-culture variant (GCTCV) 219, which is resistant to the Panama disease, to small banana farmers within this year.
The agency also seeks to start cultivation of the new banana variant.
Department of Agriculture (DA)-Davao Director Remelyn R. Recoter, in an interview with Sun.Star Davao on Friday, said the Bureau of Plant and Industry (BPI) in Davao Region has an initial stock of around 20,000 seedlings, which are ready for distribution, at the Davao National Research Center in Barangay Oshiro.
Saying this is not enough to cater to all the small banana farmers, Recoter said they will be cultivating the variant through tissue culture.
She said the farmers are required to undergo a series of training on the proper care and management of the new variant before they can start cultivating.
Recoter said they will be providing farmers with trainings within this month.
She said GCTCV 219 came from Taiwan and was "shared" to the Philippines to be cultivated to assist banana farmers affected by the Panama Disease.
Recoter said it is around 85 percent to 90 percent resistant to the disease. They have demo farms in Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley, which have shown high success rates on the usage of the variant.
For 2015, the regional office receive around P102 million for the control and eradication of the Panama Disease, the budget will go to the procurement of the GCTCV 219 seedlings, seedlings of other crops for those who will crop shift, training, and information dissemination.