DOST program benefits Leyte farmers

The sleepy farming town of Hinunangan, Leyte, is awash with activity this morning. Farmers mill around a truck filled with grafted mango and szinkom for distribution, the activity supervised by a group of scientists from the government and an agriculture state college.

The distribution of these fruit trees is one of the major activities in the area being conducted under a technology transfer program by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

Under its Municipal Science and Technology Advisory Program (MSTAP), the DOST collaborates with local government units (LGUs), agriculture offices and state colleges to usher countryside development by bringing new technologies to far-flung areas.

For this particular project started in 1996, the DOST provided financial assistance to the Visayas State College of Agriculture (VISCA), which approached the provincial government of Leyte, local officials of Hinunangan and nearby municipalities to offer technical assistance through the MSTAP Advisors.

Together they created a composite team of volunteer social scientists, horticulturists and food scientists led by Dr. Vicente A. Quiton, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dr. Salvador C. Dagoy, Director of Extension of VISCA, to oversee the project.

Following a series of consultative meetings with LGU officials and farmers and the conduct of ocular inspections, it was agreed that these municipalities would benefit most from new technologies on high-value fruit tree production and management, among others.

Since then, participating farmers have benefited from distributions of grafted or marcotted mango, szinkom, lanzones and strawberry, trainings and professional advice and observation visits to established orchards in the province.

The MSTAP progress report for July to September shows that for that period, some 200 marcotted szinkom and 250 grafted mango seedlings were handed out to farmers in Hinunangan. Inopacan. Hindang and other towns.

These seedlings were used to start scion groves for the mass production of asexually propagated fruit trees in a couple of years.

For its part, the provincial government provided an additional 400 grafted and 600 mango seedlings to Hinunangan's San Pedro and San Pablo islands to serve as model orchard farms in the area.

Farmers were also brought to VISCA to observe the college orchard and purchase more planting materials, and attended more trainings on fruit tree production.

Other activities during these months included a program planning-workshop for a three-year agricultural development plan for eight barangays in Baybay town. It was attended by 26 LGU officials and 11 representatives from government and non-government organizations.

Though fruit tree production comprises the bigger part of the P200,000 budget for the program, other projects are also undertaken simultaneously. These include the high-value vegetable production of cabbage, carrots, chayote, eggplant, tomato, pepper and ampalaya in Hinunangan, Hindang and St. Bernard.

Finally, in the fishing town of Hindang, fisherfolk are taught container gardening -- planting sweet potato and cassava in containers -- to augment their income.

For those interested in MSTAP assistance, please address your inquiries to Dr. Maripaz L. Perez, Director, Technology Application and Promotion Institute, DOST compound in Bicutan.