RISING demand for agricultural commodities in Central Visayas creates opportunities for agribusiness investments in the region, a government official said.
“The need for agricultural commodities is perennial. So we encourage poultry or swine-raising (and other agribusinesses),” said Department of Agriculture (DA) 7 agribusiness and marketing assistance division chief Christopher Lucero.
He pointed out that Central Visayas depends on other regions for commodities like vegetables and pork.
“Cebu alone, being a catchment area in Region 7, posted a high demand for agricultural products. We rely on Iloilo for more pork supply and on Cagayan de Oro or Bukidnon for about 50 percent of our vegetable supply,” Lucero said, adding that the demand comes from both household consumers and food processing firms.
He also pointed out the “burgeoning market” for organic products in Cebu, but there is no organically certified farm in the province yet—although there are producers who practice organic farming and, at the same time, pest management, so not all of their products are organic.
“We need to promote organic farming to ensure sustainable agriculture and best environment practices,” Lucero said.
The Department of Agriculture is also planning to get both public and private investments for raw materials needed by the region’s export sectors, including exporters of gifts, toys and houseware, fashion accessories, and furniture.
DA 7 is also endorsing agribusiness opportunities for public investments in Bohol and Oriental Negros.
“For Bohol, (farmers) see the need for trucking services for the province’s flourishing oil palm industry. For Oriental Negros where there are a lot of livestock and poultry products, there is a need to put up a common service facility that would prolong the shelf life of dairy products,” said Lucero. He advised local government units in southern Cebu to take advantage of trading routes, including links to Dumaguete, Oriental Negros and Tagbilaran, Bohol.
No comments:
Post a Comment