Great Lake, Fertile Land! 1.5-M. HA. LANAO SUR RISES AS AGRI PRODUCTION AREA

Lanao del Sur, the country’s second largest province with a land area of 1.5-million hectares, will soon rise as the newest agriculture and food production area with the implementation of the Lanao del Sur Integrated Program for Agricultural Development (LIPAD).

Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Alonto Adiong, Jr., yesterday accepted the offer of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) for a collaborative effort to discover and tap the potentials of the province for agriculture and food production.

Gov. Adiong, Taraka Mayor Nashiba Gandamra-Sumagayan, Vice Mayor Odin Sumagayan and other officials of Lanao del Sur were in my farm in Kidapawan City yesterday for what was supposed to be just a farm orientation on Silage-Making for goats and cattle.

During the dialogue which followed the farm tour, I briefed Gov. Adiong and the other officials on the impending food crisis in the country and how Lanao del Sur could contribute to the effort to ensure food security in Mindanao.

Gov. Adiong eagerly accepted the MinDA proposal for the crafting of an integrated development program for the whole province with two towns standing as models, Taraka and Wao.

Taraka, which recently launched the Solar-Powered Irrigation

Systems to irrigate 1,000 hectares of rice farms, and Wao, which is the proposed site of one of the five Corn Grains Storage Silo Systems to be implemented this year, will lead the transformation of Lanao del Sur from one of the poorest provinces in the country into a major agricultural and food production area.

Among the major projects which will be included in the list of priorities for the LIPAD are:

1. Establishment of a Digital Database for the province down to the household level to support to support the crafting of an accurate development plan for the province;
2. Production and Processing of High Quality Rice in the Basak Region of the Province which includes town surrounding the 39,000-hectare Lake Lanao to include the establishment of Rice Processing Facilities;
3. Establishment of Corn Grains Storage Silo Systems in Wao and other corn producing towns;
4. Establishment of Cattle Fattening and Breeding Projects, complete with Halal Abattoir and Processing facilities, to supply the residents of the province with affordable meat and also the nearby population centers of Iligan City, Cagayan De Oro City and Cebu City;
5. Establishment of Goat Breeding and Fattening Centers for local consumption and possible export to other Islamic countries;
6. High Value Crops, including Cassava, and vegetable production complete with packaging and processing facilities. In the case of Cassava, it will just be an expansion program in the southern towns of the province because of the presence of a huge Cassava starch processing facility in Malabang;
7. Free-range poultry and duck raising projects, especially for families living in the shores of Lake Lanao, including fish cage farming;
8. High Value Fruit Trees, including Coffee, and Bamboo Farming, especially in the upstreams of the tributaries of Lake Lanao to ensure sustainable agriculture and protection of the Lake.

In all of the plans I discussed with Gov. Adiong, I emphasized the philosophy of Self-Reliance in the implementation of the programs adding that the national government has focused its resources on COVID-19 interventions and recovery programs.

MinDA’s banking partner, the Development Bank of the Philippines, will be brought in to support the LIPAD Initiative.

Gov. Adiong thanked MinDA for its commitment to give focus to the development of the province and to enhance its potentials as a major food and agricultural production area in Mindanao.

We all agreed to remember Jan. 25, 2021 as a historic date for the province of Lanao del Sur marking the start of its flight from one of the poorest provinces of the country into the Shining Model of Rural Development through Self-Reliance.

#LIPADSoarHighLanaoDelSur!

#KungGustoMaramingParaan!

#GovernanceIsCommonSense!

(Photos by Aliana Eibus, Office of BARMM MP Rasul Enderez.)