The province’s banner commodities’ production has been greatly threatened by pests and diseases, climate change, and soil degradation. Prompted by this, the Provincial Agriculturist’s Office initiated the Consultancy for Agricultural Productivity Enhancement (CAPE) Program, which was adopted from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) that seeks to institutionalize effective farm management strategies through transfer of modern technologies, aiming to improve agricultural production and maximize economic growth.
This year, a series of training for various banner commodities of the province was conducted. The training on Agricultural Productivity Enhancement of Rice was conducted on May 24 at Mansalay, Calamansi on May 28 at Roxas, and Banana on June 13 at Pinamalayan. It was participated by a total of 61 farmers.
Dr. Norvie L. Manigbas, Dr. Calixto M. Protacio, and Dr. Lavernee S. Gueco served as the technical experts on rice, calamansi, and banana respectively. They also serve as resource persons on the said trainings.
The initial phase of the project targeted the first district of the province, namely Pola, Socorro, and Baco. Five farmer cooperators for each banner commodity (rice, calamansi, banana) were selected and were given technical assistance and provided with specific recommendations to improve farm productivity.
Thru this program and other innovative initiatives, Oriental Mindoro looks forward to retaining the titles of Rice Granary of MIMAROPA, Calamansi King of the country, and the Banana King of the Region.
