The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) has urged Mindanao Local Government Units to initiate self-reliant food production programs to feed their respective constituents as the whole country faces tight food supplies and soaring prices this year.
Among the strategies being proposed by MinDA to be adopted by the local governments are:
!. Livestock Production through the establishment of LGU owned Cattle Fattening Feedlot using locally procured Cattle or Imported Steers;
- Hog Production Program through a Communal Hog Raising Concept where the LGU sets up facilities with sufficient biosecurity safeguards against the dreaded African Swine Fever which virtually wiped out the backyard hog industry;
- Free-Range Chicken Production Program through the establishment of Provincial Breeding Centers for locally bred poultry for distribution to farming families;
- Fisheries and Aquaculture Development through the establishment of post-harvest facilities such as ice-makers and cold storage facilities to encourage fishermen to catch more fish.
- Intensified Vegetable Production Program especially in the highlands to ensure sufficient local supply at affordable prices.
In my consultations with local government executives, I emphasized that while Mindanao could sufficiently supply the needs of its population, the rising prices of goods in Metro Manila and Luzon because of short supply could destabilize the food sufficiency programs of the region.
An example is the increased demand for live hogs from Mindanao to be shipped to Metro Manila which has resulted to a dramatic increase in the farm gate price from P90 per kilo live last year to as high as P220 per kilo now.
Demand for beef, vegetables and fish has also intensified as Metro Manila LGUs grapple with skyrocketing food prices.
While these developments would benefit Mindanao food producers, an intensified effort to produce more should be undertaken in the region to ensure local food sufficiency.
All of these LGU food production initiatives designed by MinDA will be supported with financing from its banking partner, the Development Bank of the Philippines.
Last week, MinDA officials and DBP President Emmanuel Herbosa launched the Solar-Irrigation Projects in Taraka, Lanao del Sur aimed at irrigating an estimated 1,000 hectares of fertile farmlands.
The Province of Davao del Norte through Gov. Edwin Jubahib has also accepted MinDA’s proposal to establish the first LGU-owned Cattle Fattening Feedlot designed to produce about 1,000 heads of cattle every 100 days.
Yesterday, Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr. also expressed interest in establishing a Cattle Fattening Feedlot in his province.
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