By Dominic B. dela Cruz
Staff reporter
Batac
City—The city government has set in motion a
plan to make this city a Hawaiian and turmeric ginger producer.
The Sangguniang Panlungsod
here passed a resolution authorizing Batac mayor Albert D. Chua to sign a
memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR).
The MOA requests the BAR to research and develop the project dubbed “Technology
Adoption and Commercialization of Hawaiian Ginger and Turmeric (Curcuma longa)
in the city of Batac”.
Batac councilor Jeremiah
Jawaharlal Nalupta, the resolution’s sponsor, said the project will be led by
BAR. The BAR, a Dept. of Agriculture-attached agency, is tasked to “coordinate,
plan, monitor, evaluate, integrate, manage and/or initiate fund sourcing. The
said agency is also expected to coordinate with other government and private
agencies for the said project.
The city government here will
provide technical expertise, manpower and management capability to undertake
the research and development project. The city’s agriculture office is
specifically raked for the said functions.
Mr. Nalupta, the council’s
agriculture, livelihood and cooperatives committee chairperson, added that the
DA will fund the project. He also said the agriculture department will also
search for the best location for the project.
The council member said that
based on his personal research, the Hawaiian ginger is bigger than local ginger
species. He stated that 20-kilogram local gingers that are planted yield 40
kilograms of harvest; Hawaiian ginger on the other hand is said to yield 400
kilograms for 20 kilograms planted.
“Ket no ad-adu iti pagbalinan na diay imulam e di napinpintas ti apit
ket umabot pay iti P120 kada kilo
nukwa,” Mr. Nalupta explained.
He also disclosed that in his
initial talks with farmers here, they all favored the project, saying this
would help them producing higher value produce.
“Iti pagsayaatan na ket iti pakaimulaan na ket bakbakras iti banbantay
ket nasayaat unay ta mausar dagitoy a mabalin a pagmulaan saan a maki-compete
kadagiti regular nga imulmula dagiti mannalon iti taltalon,” he added.
The
Ilocos Times learned that the project has an
estimated cost of P4 million. Mr. Nalupta said Batac is “lucky” to have the
project.
Reacting to this, Mr. Chua
said he fully supports the project.
The mayor added that the said
ginger specie is a high value crop.
He also said that Brgys.
Camandingan, Magnuang and all the other eastern barangays here, which all have
rolling mountains, may be the best area for the said project.
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