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DAVAO del Norte – The Department of Agriculture (DA) XI bared yesterday at Big8 Corporate Hotel, Tagum City that specials programs are being offered for Fusarium-infested banana plantation. DA-XI Supervising Agriculturist and Fusarium Focal Person Herna Palma disclosed during the Knowledge Sharing Workshop on Intensified Communications Campaign on Management and Control of Banana Fusarium Will in Davao Region that the department employed four interventions to help out banana farmers to recover from Fusarium infestation. The identified programs were Cash for Work Program for Eradication, planting of Fusarium resistant variety or GCTCV 219, crop shifting program and Trichoderma distribution.
Palma emphasized that the farmers may wish to apply to any of the following programs provided that they will meet the requirements, which will be evaluated by their technical persons or plant pathologists.

She said that farmlands with 5% or below infestation per area planted may avail the cash for work program amounting to P500 per mat as incentive for the eradication. “For those who have areas that have 5% or below infestation per hectare, they may avail 10 packs of Trichoderma per mat of Fusarium infected banana but the farmer can only get a maximum of 1,000 packs,” she added. Palma also encouraged farmers to plant Fusarium resistant banana variety, which is the Giant Cavendish Tissue Culture Variant (GCTCV) 219. According to the DA program, a farmer may get 1,500 pieces of GCTCV 219 variety provided they will apply the appropriate technology and fertilized for their planting.

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“The farmer may also opt to shift from other crops like Cacao, Coffee, Corn, Cassava and assorted vegetables,” she said.
DA-XI Information Officer Noel Provido said that farmers, who wish to avail of the said programs, will have to approach their respective local agriculture office. Palma disclosed that the department allocated P 102-million to combat the spread of Fusarium in the banana industry. (PIA)

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