Aurora execs want to turn Baler area into ‘food basket’

BALER, Aurora — The provincial government has embarked on an ambitious project to turn the province into a major source of fruits, vegetables and rice not only in Central Luzon but also in the entire country with the establishment of a 312-hectare "food basket" in the so-called Canili area in this capital town.

Gov. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo told The STAR that the program is taking off with a nursery now being developed in Barangay Dianawan.

Angara said the provincial government is now procuring fruit seedlings and vegetable seeds which will be grown in the area.

The project is expected to provide livelihood to residents of Barangays Decoliat, Galintuja, San Juan and Dianawan, which comprise the Canili area.

"We have allocated 312 hectares because we want Aurora to be the source of fruits, vegetables and rice not only in Central Luzon but also in the country," she said.

She said part of the provincial government’s agricultural program, anchored on her six-point HEALTH (health, education, agriculture, livelihood, trade and environment and human resource development) agenda, includes the provision of hybrid rice on subsidized prices to every municipality.

The governor’s nephew, Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara of the lone district of Aurora, said the province boasts of high-value crops whose quality is comparable to those in Tagaytay and Baguio City.

"The only problem we have is the access road so we are now working on that," he said, adding that Sen. Edgardo Angara, the governor, Baler Mayor Arthur Angara and himself are seeking foreign funding for the Nueva Ecija-Aurora Road. — Manny Galvez