DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 3, 2014) – Banana farmers here find additional income by turning banana throwaways to banana powder and demand is increasing, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Davao Region.
To boost their production, DOLE said it has provided additional P425,982 fund for the Progressive Highland Multi-purposes Cooperative (PHMPC) to expand production of feed-grade banana powder.
“The funding is allotted for additional facilities including two hot houses, mechanical siever, warehouse for dried chipped banana and for their vermiculture production and training,” said DOLE Davao City livelihood focal Cristy Coro.
She said that the area is highly mountainous and has mostly rainy weather which causes 3 to 4 days delay in sun-drying the chipped banana. “The new facilities we will put up will ensure quantity and quality of production,” Coro said.
Feed-grade banana powder as an essential component for industrial products such as hog and poultry feeds.
Located at Sitio Baracayo in the village of Daliaon in in Toril District, PHMPC is an Agrarian Reform Beneficiary with 740 members who are mostly farmers, plantation workers and growers of Cavendish banana in a 246-hectare farm.
“The project is environment friendly. It uses reject banana Cavendish processed into banana powder (feed grade). The cooperative has already institutional buyers which demanded for higher production,” the PHMPC’s project proposal stated.
From the present 19-ton monthly production of feed-grade banana powder, the cooperative eyes to expand to produce 34 tons or more every month as required by its buyer Bex Philippines.
“Along with this expansion we also see increases employment among the members of the cooperative,” Coro said.
The cooperative is also engaged in micro-lending, consumer store, job contracting services, propping and hauling services, agri-marketing of bananas, vegetables and seasonal fruits, bakery and noodles making which are all operational. The bakery project of cooperative was also funded by the DOLE.(Sherwin Manual)
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