DAVAO DEL NORTE, August 7, 2015 – The Department of
Agriculture-XI and the Province of Davao del Norte joined hands to arrest the
destruction of local banana plantations by containing fusarium wilt or Panama
disease this year.
Regional Director Remelyn Recoter and Governor Rodolfo del
Rosario recently signed the memorandum of agreement for the implementation
of the "Management of Banana Fusarium Wilt Project” aimed at saving the
biggest dollar-earner in the province.
The agriculture department provided P34.280 million
intended for the eradication of the disease in infected farms, conduct of
trainings on good agricultural practices on banana, as well as, the production
of Trichoderma harzianum, as an effective bio-control
anti-fungal agent.
“Time is of the essence for the Davao region's billion-dollar
industry,” Recoter said, as she asked all the stakeholders to put their
best feet forward in stopping the spread of the disease.
Fusarium wilt is a fungal pathogen that attacks the vascular
system of the banana, preventing it from picking up water.
The resurgence of the fungal disease, which has been dormant for
the past 50 years, threatened to wipe out plantations and endangered the
biggest export of the Davao region.
As thousands of hectares are already infected, del Rosario
warned the fungus posed a serious threat to the livelihood of thousands of Dabaonons
and the food security of the province.
Known as the “Banana Capital”, Davao del Norte devotes about
50,000 hectares to the cultivation of Cavendish banana for export.
The dreaded collapse of the industry, once contamination is not
mitigated, would impact at least 50,000 people directly involved in the
industry, while indirectly affecting about a quarter of a million individuals
in related industries in the province.
“It is important for us to save our banana plantations from
fusarium wilt, as this will bluntly hit the economy of the province,” del
Rosario said.
The governor has since asked the players of the sector to be
resolute in protecting their farms by imposing strict quarantine measures.
He also expressed much optimism with the newly-developed
Giant Cavendish variety GCTCV 219 that is resistant to the destructive
disease.(Noel Baguio PIO)
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