Cordillera vegetables now grown in Bulacan

DOÑA REMEDIOS TRINIDAD, Bulacan – Nearer source, lower cost. The municipal government has started introducing vegetables grown in the Cordilleras region to farmers in a bid to develop the industry that was initially endemic to the highlands of Northern Luzon.

Mayor Evelyn Paulino told The STAR that vegetables such as cauliflower, carrots, sayote, Baguio beans, and brocolli may soon be bought in the market at a lower price if the said agricultural products will be coming from a nearer source.

"Vegetables grown in the Cordillera region, particularly in Benguet are expensive because dealers in Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon spend a lot for transportation" Paulino told The STAR.

She added that farm inputs will also be cut down because the farmlands in DRT are still fertile as compared to the Cordillera region. "The fertility of the land in the Cordillera has depleted throughout long years of use. If farmers use one bag of fertilizers here in DRT, the farmers there will be needing at least ten as confirmed by experts from the Benguet State University who came here for technology transfer," she said.

Mely San Gabriel, agricultural technologist of the municipal agriculture office said that the climate in DRT is conducive to the growth of the said vegetables, classified as high value crops.

San Gabriel said that presently there are testing centers all over town to further develop the industry. Nurseries were also put up where farmers get their seedlings.

"Farmers have adopted the technology of vegetable farming because of the potentials for profit. And aside from this, the municipal government is optimistic that this project will boom because of the financial and technical support it gets from the national and provincial government agencies. " San Gabriel told The STAR.

Paulino said her administrative is envisioning the mountainous town with a land area of 93,276 hectares as the next food basket of Central and the National Capital regions.

Aside from vegetables, the municipal agriculture office is also developing the cultivation of fruit bearing trees like mango, rambutan, and citrus.

"Growing high value crops will mean more income for the farmers in our town, that is why we are citing our best to provide the farmers with the latest technologies in farming," Paulino told The STAR.

Presently, they have started monitoring newly-planted carrots at a nursery in Barangay Pulong Sampaloc, while a cauliflower plantation in Barangay Kalawakan is on a full-grown stage.