THE Department of Agriculture (DA) in Negros Island Region aims to establish five techno-demo farms in Negros Occidental this year to boost local garlic production.
Joyce Wendam, regional director of DA-NIR, said on July 24 that they have identified five pilot areas for the establishment of a half-hectare each techno-demo farm for garlic, or a total of 2.5 hectares in the province this year.
Wendam said the DA will initially launch the techno-demo farm in Victorias City during the garlic production training to be conducted in the locality on July 31 to August 1.
Other areas include Valladolid, La Castellana, Isabela and Pontevedra, which are garlic-producing municipalities of Negros Occidental.
"The total 2.5 hectares techno-demo farms will add to the existing 4.6-hectare garlic production area in Negros Occidental," Wendam said, adding that the agency targets to expand the production for the commodity to at least 10 hectares this year.
DA records showed the country produces only seven percent of its total requirement thus, 93 percent is being imported.
Wendam said the establishment of techno-demo farms is part of the directive of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol to increase garlic production in the region by at least one-fourth of the country's target of 30,000 hectares amid the increasing prices of the commodity.
Wendam said these techno-demo farms aim to showcase cultural management practices and production technologies in garlic to achieve self-sufficiency.
The DA, through these farms, will capacitate farmers through technology application, and provision of trainings, technical assistance, irrigation, post-harvest facilities, and farm inputs geared towards increasing garlic production in the area, she said.
"We are looking at replicating these techno-demo farms to other areas next year," Wendam said, adding that these are also positioned to improve the economic lives of farmers.
For every techno-demo farm, the DA-NIR will provide 100 sacks of fertilizers and two kilograms of garlic seeds, which form part of the 1,000-kilogram allocation for Negros Occidental.
Meanwhile, the garlic production training will be attended by 30 garlic growers in the province. It will also include technology demonstration under organic agriculture practices.
