The Department of Agriculture is joining hands with Ilocos region farmers and local officials to revive the country’s garlic (bawang) industry that has slumped in recent years due to the influx of cheap imports.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said the DA will spearhead a consultative meeting next month involving farmers, local chief executives and other stakeholders to flesh out strategies to revive the industry.

The garlic industry roadmap will form part of the proposed medium-term Ilocos Norte agriculture and fishery master development plan, which the DA will also help craft in partnership with concerned provincial and municipal officials, farmers, fishers, and the private sector.

Sec. Alcala issued the call during a farmers’ forum at Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU), in Batac, Ilocos Norte, attended by 2,000 farmers, fishers, rural entrepreneurs, students and local officials, led by Ilocos Norte Governor Imee R. Marcos, Ilocos Norte Representative Rodolfo Fariñas, and Batac City Mayor Jeffrey Nalupta. Also present were MMSU president Dr. Miriam Pascua, DA national rice program coordinator Dante Delima, DA-National Tobacco Administrator Edgardo Zaragoza, and DA-Bureau of Plant Industry director Clarito Barron.

During the three-hour forum and ‘town hall’ meeting at the MMSU theater and auditorium, Sec. Alcala approved an initial P25 million as DA’s counterpart to undertake several agricultural and fishery projects in Ilocos Norte.

He said reviving Ilocandia’s garlic industry could be done through strong and sustained cooperation among major industry players, as shown by the recent success of onion farmers particularly in Nueva Ecija, where the DA provided quality onion seed pieces, technical assistance and postharvest facilities worth P15 million to help prop up local production particularly in Bongabon and several onion-producing towns in Nueva Ecija.

Sec. Alcala said such assistance was coupled with the non-issuance of permit allowing imports of onion that would unduly compete with farmers’ local produce.

Sec. Alcala said the P15-million assistance to Nueva Ecija onion farmers was worth the investment as it generated more than P2 billion in sales and gross income, benefiting hundreds of farmers last dry season.

Similarly, he said the DA will invest needed funds and technical assistance to prop up the production of garlic, considered as ‘white gold’ by farmers, which in recent years has been declining.

Total garlic production during the last three years has decreased from 11,300 metric tons (MT) in 2008, to 10,500 MT in 2009 and 9,600 MT last year, according to estimates of the DA-Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS). This was mainly due to less area planted to the crop, dwindling from 3,800 hectares (has) in 2008, 3,600 has in 2009 and 3,000 has last year.

As part of the P25-M commitment, the DA is allotting a total of P10M for two small scale irrigation projects: construction of a small water impounding project (SWIP), worth P5M, in Burgos , that could irrigate up to 800 hectares, benefiting 500 farm households; and repair of an irrigation system in Paoay, worth P5M.

The DA will also establish five ‘hanger-type’ storage facilities for garlic, onions, as well as tobacco, in Badoc, and four other towns in Ilocos Norte, totalling P6.5 million, at P1.3M each.

A P4-M worth municipal food terminal will be constructed in the town of Bacarra .

Other farm equipment and projects distributed and committed by the DA include the following:

·         Fifteen pump and engine sets, totalling P1.17M;

·         Cold storage facility for  Laoag City , P825,000;

·         Various farm equipment (reaper, hand tractor, thresher) and registered rice seeds to various Irrigators Associations, totalling P410,000;

·         Livestock raising projects to four 4-H Clubs, P330,000;

·         College stipend and book allowance for13 agriculture student-scholars at MMSU, at P19,500 each, totalling P253,500; and

·         Scholarship grants (including book allowance and monthly stipend) to an additional batch of 20 MMSU students, at least P100,000 per student for a four-year course.