Davao City- The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) yesterday distributed 11.2-metric tons of Sorghum seeds during the first orientation seminar on the market prospects and production technology of Sorghum for recipient local government units in Mindanao.
The Mindanao Sorghum Program which initially involves eight provinces aims to produce additional feed grains at lower price to bring down the production cost of feeds to make livestock and poultry farmers competitive.
Representatives from the provinces of Davao del Norte, North Cotabato, Sarangani, Zamboanga Sibugay, Lanao del Sur, Bukidnon, Agusan del Sur and Basilan received Sorghum seeds donated by Scott Seed Company of Texas, USA.
Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform of the Bangsamoro Government (MAFAR-BARMM) and Department of Agriculture regional offices were also present during the event.
The introduction of the Sorghum Development Program is part of MinDA’s advocacy to increase productivity, address poverty and to sustain the peace gains of the Duterte Administration.
MinDA partners with PILMICO Foods Corporation, supplier of high quality feeds for aqua, hogs, and poultry, and CP Foods Philippines as the off-takers of the program.
Glen Banogon, Assistant Vice President for Nutrition of PILMICO, one of the speakers during the Orientation said the feed mill industry needs an estimated 6.6-million metric tons of feed grains every year.
Due to the fluctuating price of corn, feed millers often resort to buying feed wheat to supplement the shortage for feed grains.
The fluctuating price of corn also results in higher prices for locally processed poultry and livestock feeds which in turn increases the cost of production.
“The three main considerations for sorghum are its nutritional value, availability and cost. There’s a big potential here, with DA and MinDA’s assistance and facilitation in the cultivation process and PILMICO’s help in the market aspect,” Mr. Banogon said.
He said the availability of Sorghum could lower the price of feeds and bring down the cost of production, thus making local hog and poultry farmers competitive.
Banogon said the feed industry needs about 600,000-metric tons of Sorghum every year to be planted in an estimated 200,000-hectares of under-utilized agricultural areas and ancestral domains in Mindanao.
The Sorghum feed grains production alone, not including silage production, is expected to earn farmers an estimated P8-B every year benefitting about 100,000 farming families.
Cattle fattening expert Arnel Corpuz, also a speaker during the Orientation, said that Sorghum stalks are ideal silage materials for goats and cattles.
“If we are successful with this, we will be able to bring down the cost of feeds allowing us to compete with imported meat and poultry,” MinDA Chairman, Sec. Manny Pinol said.
The Sorghum seeds were donated by Scott Seed Co. President Coby Krieghauser during Sec. Pinol’s visit to Texas last year when he was still Agriculture Secretary.
Krieghauser and other American Sorghum experts were supposed to come to Mindanao for the launching of the program but Sec. Pinol dissuaded them from coming because of the COVID-19 epidemic.
On Thursday, Davao del Norte, which received Sorghum seeds good for 400-hectares, will launch its Sorghum program focusing on Fusarium Wilt-affected banana farms in the province.
Other provinces are also expected to plant their seeds as soon as the rains come.
(Photos of the first Orientation on Sorghum Production were taken by the MinDA Media Team in Apo View Hotel yesterday.)
More Stories
Trump Presidency Boon To Philippine Agriculture
Mindanao Fruit Fest Scheduled Sept. 2025
DA, MinDA, LGU! MinDA Targets Tribal Areas For Highland Rice Farming