RP’s sweetest tamarind
The country’s sweetest, newly developed tamarind variety is now being commercially planted.
As of 2007, about 4,500 seedlings of Aglibut Sweet had been planted in farms and backyards in Zambales, the province chosen to be the first commercial grower of the variety.
The variety was developed by researchers of the Pampanga Agricultural College (PAC) in Magalang, Pampanga, after a decade of R&D work. It was subsequently approved for commercial planting by the National Seed Industry Council (NSIC).
The tamarind was named after the late Prof. Andres Aglibut of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), a noted agricultural engineer. Aglibut had also served as consultant of among other institutions, PAC and the
The commercialization of sweet tamarind in Zambales was made possible through the efforts of former senator Ramon Magsaysay Jr. and PAC, with funding support from the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR) headed by Director Nicomedes P. Eleazar.
The project is being implemented by the DA-Regional Field Unit-3,
The multi-campus Ramon Magsaysay Technological University (RMTU) in Zambales headed by Dr. Feliciano Rosete was also tapped to promote the sweet tamarind variety.
Aglibut Sweet is comparable to the
In 2006, PAC, then headed by Dr. Zosimo Battad, president, embarked on the commercialization of Aglibut Sweet in Zambales. This
Under the project, PAC trained and provided technical assistance to interested farmers and tamarind growers. Loans payable in one year in three installments were also provided to selected farmer-beneficiaries.
The project has aroused the interest of Zambales local government officials, who are now planning to establish their respective scion groves and to eventually venture into seedling production for their needs.
“Tamarind has a huge market potential in the
- Latest
