MALAYBALAY CITY (PIA)--Aiming to boost onion production in the region to attain self-sufficiency, the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office 10 (DA-RFO 10) staged an Allium Derby and Farmers Forum on February 22 at the Northern Mindanao Agricultural Crops and Livestock Research Complex (NMACLRC) in Dalwangan village here.
Spearheaded by DA-10's High-Value Crops Development Program, in coordination with the Research Division and private seed and chemical companies, the activity gathered 100 farmers and other stakeholders to witness the showcase of several onion varieties and their corresponding farming protocols.
"We can see from the two locations that onion production is viable in Region 10," said DA-10 Regional Executive Director Carlene C. Collado with the earlier conduct of the same in Tablon, Cagayan de Oro City, held last week.
He also mentioned that the agency will procure onion seeds and encouraged interested farmers' cooperatives and associations to submit their letter requests to avail themselves of this intervention.
Each seed and chemical company presented its onion technologies and distributed Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials to the attending farmers.
Andre Abonitalla, Assistant Sales Manager for Visayas and Mindanao, thanked the DA for implementing the field trials for onions.
“Currently, Mindanao gets its onions from Luzon, causing the price per onion to rise due to added freight costs. However, producing onions locally in Region 10 will eliminate this expense, resulting in cheaper onions,” he added.
During the derby cum forum, Allied Botanical Corp. emerged as the champion, with Pilipinas Kaneko Seeds Corp. securing first place and Ramgo Seeds as the second runner-up.
The judging criteria included the highest yield volume (in kilograms), best quality, and economic efficiency.
For her part, Jacqueline Julia A. Lagamon, acting provincial agriculturist for Bukidnon, shared that they will be working closely with DA-10’s Research Division to look for more locations as potential onion-producing sites.
DA-10 Regional Technical Director for Operations Carlota Madriaga, along with DA-10's attached bureaus and agencies, including the Agricultural Training Institute and Bureau of Plant Industry, supported the event.
Private chemical companies like Envireau Pacific, Inc., FMC Agro Philippines, Inc., Aldiz, Inc., and Tropi-Cuke, Inc. have also extended their support.
Another round of these events will be on March 21 this year at DA-10's Research Center for Hillyland Development in Claveria, Misamis Oriental. (AMBM/DA-10/PIA 10-Bukidnon)
