After successful mongo project, town tries banana propagation

SAN MATEO, Isabela — Following a successful venture in mungbean (mongo) production, this province’s top-most rice-producing town and livestock capital in the making may well become one of the region’s major banana producers soon. 

With an initial 50,000 rootstocks of tissue-cultured banana of the lakatan variety from Mindanao, Mayor Roberto Agcaoili sees bright prospects for a new generation of disease-free banana from this country’s major rice-producing province, especially this town.

In a study, the Quirino State College in neighboring Quirino said one great advantage of tissue-cultured or micro-propagated banana plants is their being disease-free.

"We have been known more for grains, mungbean and livestock but never for bananas, which we are now in the process of propagating as an additional income source for our residents," Agcaoili said. 

At present, the province has only two known major banana-producing towns – San Mariano and San Guillermo. But with bunchy top virus attacking plantations in the province, the supply and quality of local bananas have significantly declined.

Most bananas available at local fruit stands, according to Agcaoili, come from Mindanao and are sold for P40 to P50 per kilo.

"These are precisely some of the reasons why we were prompted to purchase disease-free planting materials down south to revitalize the banana industry here," Agcaoili said.

He said bananas are one of the most nutritious fruits in the world only grown in tropical countries like the Philippines.

In a survey, the local agriculture office found that only one out of 20 families regularly have bananas on their dining table.

"That’s why it is embarrassing to note that despite its being easy to grow, many of our constituents do not have access to fresh bananas. This also deprives them of quality nutrition which only the fruit could provide," Agcaoili said.

According to studies, bananas contain three natural sugars — sucrose, fructose and glucose — combined with fiber, providing an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

A recent survey among people suffering from depression revealed that many felt much better after eating bananas. This is due to the presence in the fruit of tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, which is known to make one relax, improve one’s mood and generally make one feel happier.

The tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium but low in salt, making it perfect to beat high blood pressure. 

Potassium is a vital mineral which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates the body’s water balance. 

Besides its promising economic value, "it is all of these long-term health reasons that we are now into banana production," said Agcaoili, a farmer-turned-mayor.

Last summer, the municipal government ventured into the production of mungbean, which locals dubbed as "summer gold" because of the economic benefits it has given to thousands of farmers who were mostly idle during the long summer months when their ricefields were dried up.