COTABATO CITY – ARMM Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman urges the batch of farmers who have completed the school -on-the-air program of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DAF-ARMM).
On Dec 16, some 500 farmers from various towns of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur conferred certificates as graduates of DAF’s School-On-the Air on Coffee Production and its Utilization conducted from July 1 to October 15, 2013.
ARMM’s agriculture and fisheries department maintains 1-hour weekly School-on-the-Air radio program aired over radio stations NDBC-DXMS, Cotabato City, Power Mix FM in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, DXMM in Jolo Sulu and DXKS in Lanao del Sur to disseminate updated information and package of technology relevant to production of rice, corn, vegetable, high value crops such as coffee, coconut, cocoa, rubber, mango, durian, among others.
In his message during the graduation rites held at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex here, Hataman said that having completed the school on the air program on coffee farming marks the start of the application and practice famer-graduates’ acquired knowledge and skills from management, processing to marketing and help boost ARMM ’s coffee industry.
Hataman stressed the importance of farmers being organized into association and cooperative to avail of government financial assistance for medium and small-scale industries like coffee growers through the Department of Agriculture.
“You could share with other farmers the knowledge and technologies you learned from the school-on-the air program to strengthen the coffee industry of ARMM. I urge you to organize into an association or a cooperative,” Hataman said.
Aside from certificates of completion, each farmer-graduate received 200 coffee seedlings as incentive from DAF.
Based on the 2012 Data on Crop Statistics of the Philippines of the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) SOCCKSARGEN is the top coffee producer with 30.98 percent contribution to the country’s production, followed by Davao Region with 23.12 percent share, and ARMM ranks third with 12.30 percent share.
Given ARMM’s ideal agro-climatic condition for growing high value crops suitable for Arabica, Robusta, Excelsa and Liberica coffee varieties , the province of Maguindanao has 4,285 hectares planted with coffee, Sulu-3,615 and Tawi-Tawi with 128 hectares, Basilan-3,296 hectares and Basilan 2,400 hectares as of 2012.
Volume of coffee production by province as of 2012 include Sulu-5,357.70 metric tons, Maguindanao-3,465 MT, Basilan-2,001 MT, Tawi-Tawi-1,217 (MT) and Lanao del Sur-300.52 MT. (PBChangco/PIA Cotabato City)
Source: Philippine Information Agency
