Amid the soaring price of red onions and shortage of white onions in the entire country, DA-XI Regional Executive Director Abel James Monteagudo has vowed to expand onion plantations in Davao del Sur where onion production is viable.
“We have sighted Davao del Sur because of basic advantages. First, we have found out that even with the rice program, Davao del Sur has a warm climate, and onions need sun. We found out through our seed production in palay that the sun is brighter in Davao del Sur and the day is longer there,” Monteagudo stated.
The onions, particularly red onions need much sun and less rain to avoid failure, he shared during the year-ender episode of the Philippine Information Agency Region XI’s One Davao Virtual Presser on Wednesday (Dec. 28).
He said that his office has also evaluated different areas in the province of Davao del Sur to look for more areas with much civilization, better transport services, and structures for the accessibility of the planned onion plantation.
Meanwhile, Monteagudo assured that food production and supply in the region remain stable as of December 2022, citing that palay production has increased for the past three to four years despite the urbanization of some palay lots in the region.
“We look forward to more increases in production, and especially since we are reviewing the conditions of our irrigation facilities. We are also in the rehabilitation of the existing ones so that we can probably have a more efficient water system and a result of which will redound to better production of palay,” he stated.
As part of DA’s programs in combating food scarcity, the agency has continued its support to backyard gardening, “gulayan sa paaralan”, military camps gardening, and jail gardens where DA-XI provides seedlings to produce their own gardens and harvest their own food supply. (PIA-XI/Franchette Delfin)
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