The Ilocos Norte provincial government is allocating higher budget for its clustered farming program to PHP30 million to help more farmers.

The latest allocation is higher than the PHP27 million for the program implemented in the fourth quarter of 2023 until April this year and benefited 1,130 farmers.

“For this year, we allotted PHP30 million for clustered farming of key commodities,” Engr. Chonito Baldovi, high value crops development program coordinator of the Provincial Agriculture Office, told the Philippine News Agency Friday.

The program implemented since the last quarter of 2023 provided the farmers gross sales of around PHP76 million.

Based on the production report furnished to the Philippine News Agency on Friday, the consolidated clustered farming resulted in production increase of 22 percent for mango, 12 percent for onion and nine percent for garlic.

For mango, the area covered 50 hectares with a production output of 427.62 metric tons during the January to March harvest season.

Garlic plantation, covering 80 hectares, produced 283.86 metric tons in February to March, while 60 hectares of onion plantation yielded 669 metric tons in February and April.

Clustered farms of 30 hectares each also boosted farmers’ income with a production output of 50.76 metric tons for mung bean and 42.95 metric tons for peanut.

Baldovi said under the clustered farming program, farmer-beneficiaries are assured of a ready market and higher prices for labor and land.

The production input, including technical and marketing assistance, will come from the government.

“Overall, our farmer-beneficiaries in the clustered farming, with a total land area of 250 hectares, generated an estimated gross sale of around PHP76 million,” Baldovi said.

Farmers must organize themselves into cooperatives or associations to be able to become recipients of the program.

This way, it will be easier for the government to provide appropriate trainings, including mentorship on how to market products to institutional buyers.

“We are so lucky and grateful for the all-out support of the government. They provide us with quality seeds, fertilizer and fuel subsidy and other farm inputs and machinery to help us improve our quality of life” Vintar town farmer William Baniaga said. (PNA)