Local organisations are very happy with the setting up of the first ever 1,000-hectare Cavendish banana farm near Lamitan City, in the province of Basilan. Things have gotten underway with the help of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Lamitan City Vice Mayor Roderick Furigay and Alberto Bacani of the transnational Unifrutti Tropical Philippines Inc. discussed on Tuesday with BARMM officials the intricacies of the multi-million banana propagation venture in the province.
Abdullah Cosain, deputy executive secretary to BARMM chief minister Hadji Ahod Ebrahim, said Saturday the Bangsamoro government will assist Furigay and Unifruitti’s president, Alberto Bacani, in putting up the 1,000-hectare banana plantation in Barangay Limook in Lamitan City.
“The meetings were cordial and productive. There were impromptu agreements reached. They initially agreed to cooperate in the setting up of that multi-million banana plantation,” Cosain said.
Mabang, concurrent BARMM port administrator, said they will suggest to Ebrahim, who is also head of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, to personally turn over to Furigay and Bacani the certificate of registration from BARMM for the large scale banana farming project once approved.
Pasigan had asked Furigay and Bacani to employ local residents in the plantation to complement BARMM’s employment-generation thrust.
Furigay said the banana plantation project can help local residents bounce back from loses in coconut production due to the massive “cocolisap” pest infestation that destroyed millions of coconut trees in Basilan in recent years. Coconut farm owners in Basilan have criticized the national government for its failure to address the problem.
Merchant Rino Pamaran, a senior member of the business community in Lamitan City, said Saturday the banana farming project in Barangay Limook will surely boost the city’s economy: “It will generate employment for our people, provide them income they can use for buying merchandise in the markets and stores around and increase the revenue collections of our city government.”
Source: philstar.com
