BAGUIO CITY – A farmer-beneficiary of the High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP) of the Department of Agriculture Cordillera (DA-CAR) has welcomed the interventions provided by the department that help improve his production and income.
30-year-old bell pepper farmer Alex Acos from Kapangan, Benguet and a member of the i-Kapangan Farmers Entrepreneurs Organization (i-KFEO) explained that through the said program, a 10 to 20 percent increase in his production and earnings was achieved.
“The provision of the green house, drums for water storage and irrigation, and crates has helped me improve the production and marketing of bell peppers. It has given me the opportunity to be a supplier of a fast-food chain aside from marketing my products at the Baguio Hangar Market and at the La Trinidad Trading Post,” Acos said.
HVCDP is one of the banner programs of the DA created to address food security, poverty alleviation and sustainable growth through the promotion of the production, processing, marketing, and distribution of high value crops. The program was created following the signing of Republic Act 7900 creating the HVCDP.
The components of HVCDP includes the Extension Support, Education and Training services, Research and Development, Agriculture Machinery, Equipment and Facilities Support Services, and Irrigation Network Services.
“Aside from our 3,000 square meter land area which has been planted with bell pepper, the intervention gave me the opportunity to showcase the quality of seeds used for producing bell pepper and has given me the opportunity to rent an additional land area to propagate the production of bell pepper,” Acos added.
The 35 members i-KFEO who are all GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) certified are also registered with the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture or RSBSA.
High value crops are crops that provide higher net returns per hectare to the farmer that have competitive returns on investments. This may include hybrid maize, potatoes, vegetables, spices and fruits.
Abaca, cacao, calamansi, cassava, coconut, coffee, corn, mango, oil palm, onion, pineapple, rice, rubber, seaweeds, sugar, temperate vegetables, livestock and poultry are considered as high value crops in the Philippines.
