Tubod, Lanao del Norte -  Local farmers here can now look forward to higher profits from their harvest with the opening of the Barangay Food Terminal (BFT) in the capital town of Tubod, this province on December 15, 2010.


The BFT is the joint project of Department of Agriculture-Region 10 and provincial government of Lanao del Norte.


This agricultural intervention aims to address the marketing concerns of farmers that sometimes lead to spoilage of farm produce and marine products.


“This project will greatly help our local farmers in selling their products so they can now focus more on producing higher yields”, Provincial Agriculturist Letecia Ditucalan said.


Lanao del Norte is one of the top producers of agri-aqua products in Mindanao and helps supply the rice and corn needs of nearby cities and provinces in northern Mindanao.


“We want the farmers to earn more than what they usually get from some unscrupulous traders”, said SP Comm. on Agriculture Head Casimero Bagol.


Fisher folks from the coastal towns can now bring their sought-after seafood products to the BFT and get fair prices for freshest catch.

Rice, corn, banana and copra farmers in the interior municipalities of Lanao del Norte can also take advantage of the competitive buying price offered in the BFT instead of relying on mobile traders.


The province is also eyeing to set-up a corn processing plant in the town of Linamon since corn is also the second highest agricultural product of the province in term of tones produce per year.


The provincial government is considering to build a new palay processing center in Kapatagan town to augment the existing post-harvest facilities in the province.


The Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) is promoting the technology transfer of organic farming to local farmers to combat the adverse effects of pesticides and farm chemicals to the environment and human health.


Other projects being developed by the provincial leadership is its mariculture park which is the biggest in northern Mindanao.


Governor Khalid Dimaporo has repeatedly expressed his commitment to further develop the agricultural sector of Lanao del Norte to elevate the conditions of local farmers. VNL/PIO-LDN