The City Government of Davao, through the City Agriculturist’s Office (CAgrO) recently inaugurated its new storage facility and a Bio N Laboratory in Barangay Malagos, Baguio District.
Two multi-purpose vehicles were also turned over to the office on Tuesday’s facility blessing and opening ceremony.
The P7-million storage facility will hold reserves of agri inputs such as seeds and fertilizers as these await distribution to farmers, while the P3.5-million Bio N Laboratory mixing plant will produce Bio N microbial inoculants and Bio N concentrate to be used by farmers as supplementary fertilizer.
The additional multipurpose vehicles worth P4 million will ensure smoother and faster distribution of agri inputs to farmers.
CAgrO Head Edgardo Haspe said the budget for these new assets was taken from the city’s Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Fund.
“Kining atong storage facility, naa ta’y mga fertilizers, seeds ug uban pa nga naa diha basically para magamit sa atong mag-uuma labi na gyud naa naa ta’y hulga karon sa El Niño (Our storage facility has fertilizers, seeds, and others that are needed by our farmers especially now that there is risk of El Niño),” Haspe said.
“At the same time, duna man gyud ta’y mga calamity nga nahitabo para duna ta’y daling mahatag na suporta para sa ilaha (At the same time, we also had calamities recently so this will enable us to give immediate support to our farmers),” he added.
Haspe said the Bio N organic fertilizer to be produced in the mixing plant will reduce the farmers’ need to procure commercial fertilizers by half. This is especially useful, he explained, as the prices of commercial fertilizer continue to inflate in the global market.
The agri inputs storage facility currently houses 200 bags of upland rice, 180 bags of corn seeds, and bags of various vegetable seeds. It also holds 2,125 bags of different kinds of fertilizers and 620 liters of fertilizer concentrate that are all up for distribution.
In a message read by Haspe, Mayor Sebastian Duterte said that with the new facilities that are bound to “enhance the efficiency of our city’s agricultural practices,” he is certain that “significant progress towards transformative and sustainable agriculture” will be made in the city. CIO