NORTH COTABATO (Carl Bautista / 31 Aug) Town officials welcomed Thursday a proposal to put up rubber nurseries in at least 100 villages in North Cotabato province in Mindanao.
Agriculture Secy. Domingo Panganiban announced the proposal during the launching of the National Rubber Development Program (NRDP) at the provincial gymnasium in Amas village on Kidapawan City.
"We will also put up a clone garden as source of bud wood for the multiplication of more rubber clones," he said.
The 15-year rubber development program will form part of the 10-point agenda of President Gloria Arroyo which includes among others the creation of more jobs and the development of new agri-business lands, Panganiban added, but he did not say when the nurseries would be put up.
NRDP aims to expand rubber plantations in the country to 1 million by 2016 from its current area of 81,925 hectares that would eventually create one million jobs.
The program also aims to increase the production and exports of natural rubber to $960 million, produce 500 million trees for carbon sequestration, and P250 billion annual revenue on real property tax.
Part of the launching was the unveiling of NRDP Park and the ceremonial planting of rubber trees led by Panganiban and North Cotabato Gov. Emmanuel Pinol.
Some 200 rubber seedlings were planted at the park which symbolizes the unified efforts of key stakeholders in the rubber industry.
Panganiban also graced the inauguration of the first modern corn processing complex and training center in Central Mindanao at Osias village in North Cotabato’s Kabacan town.
The plant is a joint project of the Department of Agriculture thru the National Agribusiness Corporation and the provincial government.
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