Sorghum is an African grass species which produces grains with a protein content higher than corn but is more tolerant to adverse climatic conditions like long dry spells.
The grains are either pale yellow or dark brown upon maturity at about 105 days and could be used as human food or animal feeds.
There is a variety called Sweet Sorghum which could be processed to produce ethanol or alcohol.
To those who ask in which areas would Sorghum thrive well, as a rule of thumb Sorghum would grow well in areas where corn grows.
The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) is advocating the production of Sorghum as part of its advocacy to reduce poverty, increase productivity and in the process sustain the peace gains of the Duterte Administration.
With an investment of only about P6,000 per hectare for seeds and 4 bags of fertilizer, a farmer could earn P48,000 gross per harvest.
Since Sorghum could be ratooned, the farmer could harvest three times with just one planting for a prospective gross income of P144,000 a year.
In addition to that, he could use the silage to feed his carabao, cattle or goats sufficiently.
Assuming that due to poor farm management, the farmer only earns half that much. Still his gross income of P72,000 is enough to lift him up the poverty threshhold.
On the productivity side, if 500,000 hectares are planted to Sorghum every year with an average production of 4-metric tons with three harvests every year, that would mean 6-million metric tons of grains.
That’s a lot of high-protein feeds to boost the livestock and poultry industry of Mindanao.
At an agreed farm gate price of P12 per kilo set with twp initial off-takers – PILMICO and CP Foods Philippines, that would mean an additional P72-B a year generated by Mindanao agriculture.
Since the target areas are marginal lands and ancestral domains, including former conflict areas, the program could strengthen the peace gains of the Duterte administration.
Too ambitious plan? Crazy idea?
Maybe but did not all successful programs revolutionary achievements start with ideas initially perceived as crazy?
The Wright Brothers’ Flying Steel and Man’s Moon Landing were all dubbed as impossible if not crazy dreams.
(This video was taken by my driver’s 14-year old son, Reggie Solin, today in my farm.)
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