Lanao Norte showcases Alimango festival

LALA, Lanao del Norte -- This first class town in Lanao del Norte celebrates its 67th founding anniversary through holding the 15th Alimango festival that has been drawing tourists since March 18 to 22.

Roniel Baroy, Lala town agriculture officer, told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro that the Alimango festival which is celebrated every March 22 is the town’s thanksgiving celebration for the bountiful harvest in farms and marine products.

Highlighted by not less than 1.2 tons of cooked mud crabs formed into ‘Alimango mountain,’ the cooked crabs were distributed free to the public after the unveiling of the festival that Mayor Allan J. Lim led together with its local government officials.

"The Alimango festival is one of a kind in the country wherein Lala has sustained as its annual tourist attraction,” Baroy said.

Baroy said Lala has increased its marine produce since the Panguil Bay Development Council has enforced the fishery law in the provinces of Lanao del Norte, Misamis Occidental, Zamboanga del Sur and the cities of Tangub and Ozamiz which local government units agreed to demolish the illegal structures and diminished the illegal fishing that contributed to the deterioration of the marine life in the bay for the past years.

"Lala has 2000 hectares of fishponds owned by some private businessmen and small entrepreneurs. For crabs alone, Lala town is supplying at least one ton a day to Visayas and Manila," Baroy said.

According to Lim, the implementation of coastal resource management, fishery ordinances and law enforcement are a matter of political will for the next generations to benefit the results of the implementation.

Lim said that as the town celebrated its 67th charter day, it also garnered the grand slam for the National Rice Achievers Award of the Department of Agriculture since 2013 until this year.

“We will receive the award next month in Manila which comes with P1 million cash with a total of P3 million pesos for the purchased farm tractors, harvester and other farm implements to support the farmers."

Lala won the award as it consistently achieved the two criteria: sufficient production that could feed the community and supply the other areas in Mindanao, Visayas and Luzon and for its rice having top value and quality, Lim said.

The town also produces the bottled calamansi juice health drink which comes from the estimated 500-hectare calamansi plantation owned by groups or individual farmers.

Lala with an estimated population of more than 60,000 is the only first class town in Lanao del Norte.

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