MANKAYAN, Benguet – The municipal government is inclined to purchase lands in the different parts of the municipality suitable for two demonstration farms for highland vegetables and heirloom rice to help improve the productivity of farmers.
Mayor Frenzel Ayong reported one of the priority development thrusts of his administration is to advance the town’s agriculture sector that play a key role in sustaining the economic activities in most parts of the municipality.
“We value the important contributions of the town’s agriculture sector in providing sustainable livelihood to our constituents and the economic activities of the people in the different barangays, thus, the same must be brought to a higher level with the putting in place of the demonstration farms,” Mayor Ayong stressed.
The municipal chief executive pointed that one of the demonstration farms will be established in Balili for the production of highland vegetables while another demonstration farm will be established in the lower barangays of Lower Mankayan purposely for research in enhancing the production of heirloom rice.
According to him, Mankayan is also one of the major vegetable-producing municipalities in Benguet and various priority development projects of the municipal government focuses on how to improve the agriculture sector for it to become sustainable and serve as a catalyst for the overall growth and development of the municipality.
Ayong explained the planned demonstration farms in Lower and Upper Mankayan will serve as research areas to pilot test the latest technologies that will improve the productivity of highland vegetables and heirloom rice production before the same will be rolled out in the different rice and vegetable-producing areas in the town.
He emphasized that the municipal government wants that agriculture will play a key role in helping generate resources that could be plowed back to the people in the form of high impact development projects and enhance the delivery of basic services, especially in the remote villages of the municipality.
Mankayan is one of the five first class municipalities in the province and one of the three towns that rely on mining as its major source of income that maintains its status, thus, the need for the municipal government to venture on other income-generating projects that will help in providing alternative sources of income for the municipality to be able to maintain its standing beyond the mine life.
Ayong assured that the municipal government remains aggressive in providing assistance to the concerned sectors in the different barangays to improve their contribution to the growth and development of the locality as there is a need to improve income-generating activities instrumental in maintaining the economic activities in the different parts of the municipality.
By HENT