The Department of Agriculture and Universal Robina Corp., the food manufacturing arm of the Gokongwei Group, on Monday forged a five-year agreement to jointly establish and continue implementing the Sustainable Potato Program establishing a reliable seeds system, capacitate potato farmers organizations and boost farm productivity and farmer income in the top potato-producing regions of the country.
The URC, one of the largest branded consumer food and beverage product companies, joined the SPP prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said the URC committed to upscale the project and expand production in the Cordilleras, Bukidnon and Davao in partnership with the DA and the United Potato Producers of Benguet and Mountain province and other farmers’ associations in various provinces.
The URC, whose snack brands include potato chips marketed locally and abroad, previously distributed 506 metric tons of high-quality potato seeds in three regions. These were planted in 202 hectares of land under the auspices of the SPP. The distributed seeds yielded 45 metric tons per hectare of potatoes, with total estimated production of 23,000 metric tons that generated gross income of P920 million for 14 farmer organizations.
“Since its inception in 2019, this program exemplified the power of public-private partnerships in driving positive change. This agreement solidifies our shared commitment to improve access to quality planting materials, enhance potato production practices and technology, boost local sufficiency, and ultimately uplift farmers enroute to a sustainable future,
Tiu Laurel said. The DA regional offices and URC will identify and select farmers groups that will benefit from the program through capacity building, training in good agricultural practices, seed multiplication, pest and disease management, storage, handling and marketing.
Further, the DA committed additional funding for the production of quality planting materials targeting 2 million pieces of Generation 1 seeds to be used for seed production in 44 hectares in selected areas. The program is seen extending over 12,000 hectares of commercial raised potato after three generations.
Tiu Laurel also committed to providing farmers with nurseries, small machinery, storage, and processing facilities.
The DA and URC continue to foster collaboration in grassroots-based mechanisms in pursuit of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), particularly Responsible Production and Consumption (SDG 12) and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17).
