NEWSFLASH

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MINDANAO GROWS POTATOES

Bukidnon, Nov. 27, 1997 - Baguio and Benguet no longer hold the monopoly on potatoes; Northern Mindanao farmers are growing the crop with gusto and reaping huge profits.

The Patatas Farmers Association, a cooperative of about 300 farmers, entered into a P20-million contract with the giant food firm Universal Robina Corporation late last year to grow white potatoes for URC's potato chips plant.

Their first crop was planted last May, using first generation seed potatoes directly bought from Australia by URC. The initial harvest of 16.35 tons of quality potatoes per hectare yielded the farmers an estimated net income of P30,000 per hectare for a single harvest.

The encouraging results of the first crop has enticed more participants to the contract growing scheme and it is predicted that no less than 10,000 farm families will eventually be involved in the commercial potato production project.

At present, URC's manufacturing plant can process 80 tons of potatoes per day. Current trends show that snack foods alone can consume 200,000 to 300,000 tons of potatoes per year.

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