The government has established a rubber processing plant in Banisilan, North Cotabato, raising hopes among rubber planters for processed rubber products and bigger market opportunities.
The P41-million processing center was inaugurated Thursday by North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Mendoza and representatives from the Department of Agrarian Reform-Mindanao Sustainable Agrarian and Agriculture Development (DAR-MinSAAD) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which funded the project.
Kenji Terada, the first secretary of the Japanese Embassy; Naoyoki Ochiay, JICA-Cotabato head; Itsuo Kihara, team leader of MinSAAD consultants; and Yoshiyuki Ueno, a JICA representative, witnessed the inauguration.
“This project will benefit mostly our rubber planters who have been complaining of lack of post-harvest facilities,” Mendoza told delegates from farmer cooperatives.
The project, Mendoza said, is expected to increase productivity and profit among rubber planters in Banisilan and nearby municipalities.
DAR Secretary Rafael Mariano urged farmers to make use of the processing plant and help maintain it to sustain high productivity.
About 26 rubber farming cooperatives are direct beneficiaries of the project, Mariano said.
