Banana program a success in Quezon

MANILA, Philippines –  Small farmers in Gen. Nakar and Infanta, both in Quezon province, have benefited from the S&T Anchor Program for Banana (STAP Banana) by using tissue-cultured cultivars of saba, lakatan and latundan varieties.

The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) reported recently that the production of small banana farmers in the two towns increased.

Started in 2004, STAP Banana was implemented to provide science and technology (S&T) interventions to small farmers initially and raise the yield and improve the quality of the three banana varieties.

From the success of the banana project in the two towns, the Quezon farmers helped establish 30.5-hectare banana demo farms in Quirino, Cavite and Mindoro.

In Quirino, 15 ha were devoted to lakatan, seven hectares in Cavite for latundan and 8.5 ha in Mindoro for saba. 

Based on the accomplishments of STAP Banana, PCARRD crafted the National Integrated Banana Research and Development Program (NIBRDP).

This program called for studies on S&T-based integrated crop management (ICM) and good agricultural practices (GAP) on saba, lakatan and latundan in Cagayan Valley, Zamboanga, Davao and Caraga Regions.