ZAMBOANGA CITY, Mar 30 (PIA) – The 1.5-hectare communal garden of the Teresita Vegetable Farmers Association (TVFA) in Piñan, Zamboanga del Norte yielded some ₱50,000.00 income from vegetable farm.
"We can finally say that it was all worth it. Our hard work, patience and the teamwork have paid off so we are very grateful to the DA-SAAD and to our very supportive Mayor (Carreon),” TVFA president Pablito Cating said.
Cating revealed that About 88 kilograms of eggplant was harvested and sold to local buyers on February 18, 2022.
“Our first harvest festival in October was the inspiration to plant more, we were able to harvest 3,000 hills of cabbage that time. In November we replanted our vegetable, and started harvesting this month. We now have an accumulated ₱50 thousand on bank savings, and around ₱12 thousand cash on hand,” Cating further said.
Last year, the TVFA harvested a variety of vegetables such as squash (390kg), Bell pepper (180kg), String beans (148jg), Ampalaya (56kg), tomato (1,039kg), Okra (61kg) and Cucumber (34kg).
SAAD 9 Area Coordinator Nurhainar Salim conducted area monitoring and noted that with the strong support of the local government unit, the association was also able to sustain the communal garden.
“The DA-SAAD is very grateful for municipal Mayor Cecilia J. Carreon for the assistance given to the Teresita Farmers Association for providing additional vegetable seeds for planting. We are very hopeful that this will bear fruits of their labor, come next harvest,” Salim said.
To date, the association continues to manage other vegetables like bitter gourd, sibuying, and sponge gourd. Another batch of veggies in seedling stage are the cabbage and bell pepper. (EDT/RVC/PIA9 with reports from Aimee Lou D. Madjus/DA-RFO IX, SAAD)
