Palm oil mill spurs planting in Carmen town

by Zac Sarian Processing plants of whatever agricultural commodity will likely encourage farmers to plant and produce the raw materials needed by that factory. That is true with the palm oil factory that is under final construction in Carmen, North Cotabato. The oil mill is the Univanich Carmen Palm Oil Corporation, a joint venture of Thailand’s biggest oil palm company, Univanich, and local investors with Mrs. Noemi Taliño as company chairman. Jerry Taray, one of the investors and a grower and nursery operator himself, revealed that the new oil mill has been encouraging farmers in Carmen to go into oil palm farming. Before the mill was started to be set up, very few of the small farmers dared to plant this industrial crop because they knew they will have a hard time bringing their harvests to distant factories. It would be very expensive for them. SPROUTED SUPER NAPIER IN TERESA SPROUTED SUPER NAPIER IN TERESA – Farmers who are looking for just a few planting materials of Pakchong 1, the so-called Super Napier, can secure them at the Sarian Farm in Teresa, Rizal. This is to meet the clamor of small-time growers who cannot afford to buy the big volume usually required by commercial suppliers. Pakchong 1 is the fast-growing grass developed by Dr. Krailas Kyiothong of Thailand which is also very nutritious. It is relished by farm animals and fish like goats, rabbits, cattle, carabaos, pigs, chickens and even tilapia. An organic coconut farmer is going to shred the grass for mulching his coconut trees. And he will also use the dried biomass as fuel for cooking his coco sugar. Photo shows the sprouted Pakchong 1 in Teresa, Rizal. On the part of the municipal government, it has come up with its own scheme of supporting the interested farmers from Carmen. It has come up with a “plant now pay later” scheme depending on its savings and available development funds. The program calls for the financing of the planting materials which could amount to P30,000 per hectare. The provincial government of North Cotabato headed by Gov. Lala T. Mendoza, has also its own “plant now pay later” scheme with a yearly budget of P20 million. This can finance the planting of 700 hectares. Some private individuals also have their own financial schemes to help the small-scale farmers who don’t have enough capital. Jerry Taray has his own project of helping Muslim farmers by supplying the planting materials, with the farmers paying for one half of the cost. For instance, the farmer will pay P15,000 for half of the seedlings needed per hectare. The other P15,000 is loan from Jerry, payable with the proceeds from oil milling at the Univanich Carmen oil mill later. Jerry said he has already helped farmers to plant 360 hectares under his scheme. He explained that he wants to help the Muslim farmers so they can also benefit from the construction of the oil mill in Carmen. This way, they could improve their economic status and be part of the inclusive growth that the government has been espousing. Jerry says that oil palm farming could be the key to lift the small farmers from the poverty level. It is ideal for small farmers because once the plantation has been established, there is very minimal labor that is needed to maintain the plantation. The family members can as well supply the labor. The waiting period for the first harvest is just about three years from planting, according to Jerry. Harvesting is continuous and not seasonal, hence the cash flow is constant. From one hectare, Jerry said, a farmer can have a monthly net income of P6,000 to P15,000. If he has two hectares, then he will have P12,000 to P30,000 net income per month. That’s already way above the poverty level. The good thing about oil palm farming is that production could continue for many years. Dr. Pablito P. Pamplona, one of the advocates of oil palm farming for smallhold farmers has written in the July issue of Agriculture Magazine about a very good example of a once-poor Muslim farmer who became rich by growing oil palm. He is Jose Manangka Sagadan of Mlang, North Cotabato. Dr. Pamplona reported that before 2002, Sagadan could hardly meet the needs of his big family. He had to borrow money so his eldest daughter could enter college. In three years from 2000 to 2003, Sagadan was able to plant 8 hectares to oil palm under the “plant now pay later” scheme. And because of the good income from oil palm, he did not have to borrow money anymore to send his five younger children to college. After his five children finished college, Mr. Sagadan used his income from oil palm to build his dream house, bought a brand-new pickup truck, and used part of his income to lease land to expand his plantation. His production area for oil palm now totals over 20 hectares and 16 are already productive, according to Dr. Pamplona. **** **** **** PHILMECH AT AGRILINK — The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) will showcase the results of its latest high-impact research and development projects at the forthcoming Agrilink 2014 which will be held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City from October 9 to 11. Some of the innovations include the tractor-mounted mini-rice combine harvester, rice transplanter, mechanical seeder, compact corn mill, coco water pasteurizer, essential oil extractor and cassava digger. PhilMech’s executive director, Engr. Rex Bingabing, said there are big challenges for our agricultural sector such as climate change, food security through self-sufficiency, the need for globally competitive products and addressing the declining number of farmers. He said that agricultural mechanization can help improve production yield, reduce postharvest losses and increase the volume of agricultural produce for consumption. Bingabing said that proper use of postharvest facilities like dryers and milling will greatly improve the quality of the products. Agricultural mechanization also reduces production time and required labor as well as significantly reduce production costs.