By Sheila Mae H. Toreno & Myleen S. Subang
DA RAFID Region VI
The lack of financing limits the capability of majority of onion and garlic farmers in Miagao, Iloilo to increase their production.
Things changed when the Department of Agriculture (DA) provided them with P20 million loan under the Production Loan Easy Access (PLEA) program.
“With the easy access financing made available for Miagao farmers, we are expanding from 40 to 110 hectares of bulb onion production, and from one and a half to 10 hectares on garlic,” said municipal agriculturist Raymundo Monroy.
Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol offered a low interest, collateral free financing program to the town during his Biyaheng Bukid in November last year.
He mentioned that farmers in the country are producing only 11 percent of garlic and 47 percent of onion’s national requirement. The expansion of onion and garlic production areas nationwide seeks to minimize the importation.
The Philippine Statistical Authority reports that the country imports 89 percent for garlic and 53 percent for onions. This pushed the DA executive to look into the needs of the local growers of onion and garlic.
According to Monroy, there was a downtrend in the production of onion from 462 metric tons (MT) in 2016 to 296 MT the following year. The yield on garlic also decreased by more than half from 3.52MT in 2016 to 1.8MT in 2017.
“Sudden changes in climate, reduced areas planted and lack of farming capital were among the reasons for the decrease in production. We are thankful to Secretary Piñol that he fast tracked the delivery of the loaning program to our town in less than three months after his commitment,” Monroy shared.
The Office of the Municipal Agriculturist (OMA) of Miagao expanded bulb onion production areas in five barangays—Fantilla, La Consolacion, Sibucao, Tumagboc, and Wayang.
“Previously, there were 26 barangays that are into bulb onion production. With the PLEA program, we already have 31 barangays producing onion, while Brgy. Tigmarabo focuses on garlic,” the municipal agri chief added.
April Joy Depamaylo, Miagao’s bulb onion coordinator, said that a total of P13,646,938.00 were already disbursed to 373 onion and garlic growers of Miagao.
“The Rural Bank of Miagao, Inc. had released a minimum loan of P15,000 per farmer, and there were two (onion and garlic) farmers who availed themselves of P150,000 loan each,” she added.
With the PLEA program, farmers will no longer run to private lenders or loan sharks to finance their farm. The loaning program has only six percent interest rate per annum and is payable in two years.
“Naka loan kami P75,000 sa DA kag amu na ginbakal namon sang lima ka libra nga bulb onion seeds, abono, bulong, pagpatubig kag gingasto namon sa mga tawo sa pagtanum kag pagpanghilamon. Nakabulig gd sa amon sing daku kaysa manghulam kami sa iban nga tawo, mabudlay guid,” said Merlyn Nievares, an onion grower in Brgy. Bagumbayan.
Nievares, whose family received a Gawad Saka regional award in 2014, said that they have planting onion for more than three decades and it is only now that they have given easy access to government credit.
“Sang una, gatanum kami sang ahos sa tradisyonal nga pamaagi nga ginpanubli pa namon. Sang ginpadala kami ni Secretary Piñol sa India, didto namon natun-an ang mga bag-o nga sistema sa pagtanum sang ahos kaangay sang organiko nga pamaagi,” said Santos Ermeje, president of Asosasyon sang mga Manug Ahos sa Tigmarabo.
Ermeje joined Miagao mayor Macario Napulan and other onion and garlic farmers of Iloilo in a study visit to India on September 2017.
He said that garlic growers in Miagao should be updated with new technologies in production in order to increase their yield and income. He assured that their garlic production this year will significantly increase since more farmers were geared to plant more with DA’s credit support.
OMA Miagao partners with DA Regional Field Office 6 in holding trainings on production, good agricultural practices, pest and diseases management, and among others to capacitate the onion and garlic farmers.
“Aside from financing and technology, local farmers also need support on marketing. In Miagao, we need storage facilities which could store farmers’ produce when the prevailing market price is not favorable to them,” Depamaylo explained.
The DA-High Value Crops Development Program is finalizing the design for the village-type cold storage facility with 10 tons capacity to be put up in Miagao this year.
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