Zamboanga City – Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) Project Zamboanga City and partners solidify support to women cassava growers.
The demand for cassava has been increasing and this trend is expected to continue with improvements in technologies transforming cassava roots into healthy snacks and other products. As part of its continuing support to women cassava growers in Zamboanga City, USAID’s Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) Project hosted a virtual roundtable discussion with the Zamboanga City Agriculturist Office (ZCAO), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI),the Department of Agriculture (DA),and Western Mindanao State University (WMSU) College of Agriculture on February 19, 2021.
The local and national agencies together with the academe pledged support to strengthen the cassava production in Barangays Dita and Lubigan, Zamboanga City, which will benefit 38 women cassava growers and their families.
As a result of the discussion, the Zamboanga City government will facilitate the bidding and approval of the PhP4 million cassava processing center in Barangay Dita and procurement of cassava seedlings.
DOST Region IX will conduct the technology needs assessment and provide the needed operational training which DTI Region IX will also supplement. The DA provided seedlings for the 225 sq. m. demo-farm in the barangay.
Currently, the construction of the cassava processing center is at 80percentcompletion. Barangays Dita and Lubigan are project sites of DA’s ongoing research on the “Technology Support System for the Enhancement of Cassava Production and Processing in Region IX”.
These two barangays have been supplying cassava chips as raw materials for poultry feeds to large agribusiness firms in the country. Since 2017, the USAIDSURGE Project has been supporting Barangays Dita and Lubigan in their granulated cassava production and marketing, as well as their development of cassava chips as value added products.
The SURGE Project will continue its technical assistance to improve the barangays’ existing products, organize trainings, and continue supply linkages under the U.S. Government’s Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative. With a multi-stakeholder approach to sustainable livelihood, women entrepreneurs can benefit from the increased opportunities and be equally empowered to secure better lives for themselves, their families and their communities. (LGU Public Information Office)
