The City Agriculture Office (CAO) is offering free cashew or kasuy seedlings to individuals who are interested to plant them Puerto Princesa.
In a post earlier this week on Facebook, CAO said it is giving away cashew seedlings to those interested in planting the tree.
Jommel Quiamco, CAO agriculturist II, said the program aims to boost the production of cashew nuts and byproducts under the “One Town, One Product (OTOP)”.
“Yong kasuy kasi diba yan ang ating OTOP, One Town One Product natin sa Palawan. So para mapalawak pa ‘yong area natin ng production ng Kasuy, nagbibigay ang office, nagpoproduce kami ng mga Kasuy seedlings para ipamigay siya nang libre sa mga nais magtanim na magsasaka o kahit sinong indibidwal na interesado dito sa Puerto Princesa,” he said.
Quiamco said that the maximum number of seedlings that can be given per individual will depend on the area where the seedlings will be planted and on the willingness of the individual to take care of the seedlings.
The recommended distance between each seedling is 10 by 10 meters, so if the requestor will fill a hectare with kasuy seedlings, the office will give a maximum of 100 seedlings.
“Depende siya sa area na gusto mong pagtaniman. Saka willingness mo talaga, ‘yong mami-maintain mo sa sarili mo. Per hectare, ang recommended kasi namin na distance ay 10 by 10 [meters]. So sa isang ektarya kung pupunuin mo siya ng kasuy, puwede ka namin bigyan ng maximum ng 100 [seedlings],” Quiamco said.
The requestors will have to make sure that they can water the seedlings properly so that they will not go to waste.
“Dapat lang siguraduhin lang ng magre-request na kaya niyang alagaan. Tsaka kaya niyang diligan, mahirap kasi mag-maintain, madaling magtanim. Yon sana ang gusto naming siguraduhin sa magre-request, yong commitment nila doon sa pagtatanim para ‘di masayang yong seedlings na ibibigay sa kanila,” he added.
In order to acquire the seedlings, those who are interested will need to fill out a request form in their office.
The request form will then be passed to the technician assigned in the barangay where the requestor will plant the seedlings.
The technician will check if the area is suitable for the kasuy or other seedlings requested to live in, like if the area is clean and has a source of water.
The kasuy seedlings are now being kept at the nursery of the office in Tiniguiban, near the corner going to Palawan State University.
Free cashew tree seedlings has been a long-running program of the CAO.
In order to ensure the production, the office has propagation farms in Salvacion and Gintong Butil, where there are trees that serve as the source of seeds. The office can get many seeds yearly and would propagate them until they are ready to be given out to farmers.
Aside from kasuy seedlings, the CAO is also distributing free cacao seedlings. The office is also accepting requests for seedlings.
With the start of the rainy season, the cacao that is known to be shade-loving will surely thrive, he said.
The area where the requestors will plant its seedlings will be inspected first to make sure that it is shaded or partially-shaded to ensure successful growth.
They also have a variety of subsidized fruit trees such as calamansi, star apple, suha, macopa, and guyabano, which can be bought at a low price.
Those grown from seeds cost P20, while the grafted seedlings P30. The price of their grafted seedlings is very low compared to those sold by privately-owned farms which are around P70 to P100.
For inquiries, you may go to the Puerto Princesa City Agriculture Office on the 3rd floor of the New City Hall Building, Brgy. Sta. Monica.
About Post Author
