DA-XI, DavNor ink pact to combat fusarium

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)