NE farmers get processing facility

Source: Daily Tribune
Author: Jonas Reyes

Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija -- The Department of Agriculture, or DA, recently turned over a calamansi processing and vegetable cold storage facility to a farmers' association.

According to the DA Regional Field Office 3, the Lucky Farmers Association, or LFA, the said facilities were provided through the High Value Crops Development Program in Barangay Calawagan.

The facility included equipment such as the calamansi juice extractor and juicer that has a total worth of P1,466,622.06 and the Vegetable Cold Storage Facility worth P2,632,718.65.

DA RFO 3 executive director Dr. Eduardo Lapuz Jr. and LFA chairperson Janette Abaoag led the turnover ceremony.

Proper processing

Witnesses to the turnover ceremony were Mayor Myca Elizabeth Vergara, HVCDP and National Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture Program focal person Engr. AB David, Agricultural Program coordinating officer of District 3 and 4 June Lacasandile, acting City Agriculturist Wilfredo Ponce and the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist and Third District of Nueva Ecija.

Lapuz said the agency aims to provide the facilities to ensure that the vegetables are of high quality and the processing of the calamansi products are done properly by the beneficiary farmers.

Central Luzon is currently the fourth top producing region in terms of calamansi planting, with a yield of 9,825.37 metric tons or MT.

According to a report by the Philippine Statistics Authority in 2022, Nueva Ecija is known as having the highest output of calamansi in the region, with 63.41 percent or 6,230.04 MT of the total production.