Farmers get a boost in cassava production thru DOST training
Cassava, a staple on Filipino tables, is a versatile crop that can be made into a variety of products. It is a major source of livelihood for farmers in the upland Tanay, Rizal with a bountiful harvest, giving growers a sizeable margin for profit.
And to enhance the knowledge and skills of the farmers in cassava production, the Department of Science and Technology Regional Office IV-A (DOST IV-A) in the partnership with the Department of Agrarian Reform-Rizal Province (DAR-Rizal) jointly conducted a three-day training on cassava production with the Organization of Agrarian Reform Beneficiary Farmers of Inalsan, Inc. (OARBFII) held from 4-6, May 2022.
Located in the upland part of Sitio Pantay, Barangay Tandang Kutyo, Tanay, Rizal, the OARBFII is one of the organizations assisted by DAR– Rizal where cassava production is one of the group’s main sources of livelihood.
Through the expertise of Dr. Alexander Abrazado, the Dean of the College of Agriculture of the University of Rizal System-Tanay Campus, the organization learned various techniques and strategies for boosting its cassava yield. Dr. Abrazado shared on the first day of the training, the needed land and cutting preparations, soil enrichment (organic and inorganic), layout, planting, weeding, pest management, and harvesting.
Dr. Abrazado looks on as the farmer group listens intensely to the lectures.
On the second day, Dr. Abrazado demonstrated the actual procedures for land preparation leading to the cassava planting.
The training yielded a fruitful harvest of new knowledge that farmers can bring along with them as they went back to their respective farms with the hope of a bountiful harvest in the not-so-distant future. The OARBFII members had also expressed their gratitude for the new learnings that they gained knowing fully well that science is indeed for the people. (By Roselle D. Lopez and Trinidad Sager, DOST-CALABARZON)
Farmers prepare the land for cassava planting.
