The Department of Agriculture and Food in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DAF-ARMM) said cassava production in the region continues to grow due to domestic industrial demand.
Dr. Albert Usman, DAFF-ARMM cassava coordinator, said the provinces of Lanao Del Sur and Maguindanao are the top cassava producers in the region.
Cassava harvested in the two provinces are sold mainly for industrial consumption while production in Basilan and Tawi-Tawi are generally used for food.
Usman said cassava is considered a crop with high economic potential that can have a significant contribution to the region’s agricultural output.
Cassava is regarded as the third most important food crop in the tropics, after rice and corn. Valued by small-scale farmers for its tolerance to drought and infertile soil, the crop is essentially eco-efficient.
Usman also said that DAF-ARMM, through its Gender and Development (GAD) unit, has conducted a series of training sessions on cassava food processing in Talayan, Guindulungan and Sultan Mastura, towns in Maguindanao.
Such training could expand the livelihood opportunities for residents in rural communities and at the same time boost the production of the crop in the region. The training focused on improving the lives of less-favored sectors of the rural population by means of utilizing available farm crops, like cassava, which is abundant in the region’s agricultural areas.
Participants of the training were taught how to make cassava cake, cassava jelly, cassava puto taktak, and other cassava-based products and delicacies. The program also catered to the needs of the farmers such as giving machinery and cassava graters.
GAD focal person Ramla R. Macatabang said the training was also geared at empowering women and youth to gain basic skills in cassava food processing for entrepreneurial activities, increase their productivity, and to improve family income.
Based on DAF-ARMM data, the training program attracted 148 active participants in the towns of Talayan, Guindulungan, as well as in Sultan Mastura. The training program is currently implemented in the provinces of Maguindanao, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan. (Bureau of Public Information/PIA-10)
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