The province of Leyte is set to contest Cordillera's position as the country's premier salad bowl. An area as vast as 20,000 ha in the Tongonan mountain range will be allotted to the farm-and-harvest activity of high-value semi-temperate vegetables.
According to Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala , the Department of Agriculture (DA) has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) last December 12, 2011 with the PNOC-Energy Development Corp. (PNOC-EDC), among other institutions and groups of Leyte farmers to press Cordillera in its crown as top salad greens producer.
Under the MOA, the DA and the PNOC-EDC will invest P92 million in the next five years to develop fit farming grounds enclosing the Leyte Geothermal Production Field (LGPF). The investment is said to benefit 5,600 farmers composing 23 farmers’ groups in Kananga town and Ormoc City.
The production area is 500 to 800 meters above sea level. It extends from Ormoc City to Kananga town. It will be managed by a five-year initiative referred to as the Agri-Pinoy integrated and diversified program for the development of the ‘OK’ (Ormoc City and Kananga) upland range.
With supporting reports from Manila Bulletin
