COTABATO CITY—To support the livelihood of Teduray farmers in the highlands of Maguindanao, the Bangsamoro Government has started the construction of the Banana Plantation thru a groundbreaking ceremony at Barangay Labungan, Datu Odin Sinsuat in the said province on Oct. 29, 2021.
This is a project led by the Regional Bangsamoro Board of Investments (BBOI) in collaboration with the Office of Member of Parliament Suharto M. Ambolodto and Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs (MIPA).
Initially, 5 hectares of Cardava Banana (or the “saba” in Tagalog; “kamison” in Maguindanaon) will be planted in Datucampong Banana Plantation within the 50-hectare area plantation in the coming months.
Regional BBOI facilitated the connection between Datucampong Banana Plantation, the new banana investor, and Usman Banana Plantation in Matanog, Maguinanao, which is the source of Cardava nursery and provides technical assistance or skills on the proper method of planting as well as to help them link to market the product.
“I hope that this will encourage other people to go into Cardava planting [not only for Cavendish or the “lakatan”] because there is also available market and good income for Cardava,” Atty. Ishak Mastura, Regional BBOI chairman, said.
“We are also eyeing future ventures to develop 150 hectares of Cavendish Banana Plantation here in the area that will generate at least 250 jobs, mostly for the local resident farmers”, Mastura added.
MIPA Deputy Minister Guialil Abdulrahman acknowledged the RBOI, with the assistance from MP Ambolodto, in their efforts of providing this kind of investment initiatives for the indigenous people.
“We are collaborating on the investment opportunities here to help our indigenous residents rise from poverty through the jobs created and other economic activities that will be spurred from this new investment,” Abdulrahman said.
Meanwhile, Regional BBOI Board of Governor Mohammad Pasigan mentioned that an estimated Php2,000,000.00 to Php20,000,000.00 worth of capital will be incurred in investing 5 to 50 hectares of Cardava plantation, particularly in the upland areas. (Bangsamoro Information Office)
