By NONOY E. LACSON
February 23, 2010, 3:06pm
BONGAO, Tawi-Tawi – Farmers and residents in Tawi-Tawi Province celebrated on Monday what they described as a bountiful harvest of food crops in their maiden “Cassava and Banana Harvest Festival” here.
Despite its being on the list of the poorest provinces in the country, Tawi-Tawi Gov. Sadikul Sahali averred that food production flourishes in the province and the people here never run out of something to eat as amplified in the festival’s theme, “Nobody…Nobody Goes Hungry in Tawi-Tawi.”
Maybe unknown to many, Tawi-Tawi has gained fame for its massive seaweed production and rich marine resources, and has been attaining surplus production of cassava – a staple food here and in the neighboring provinces of Sulu and Basilan.
There are more than 19,000 hectares of arable lands planted with cassava in the province, producing close to 170,000 metric tons of harvest in a year.
Sangkula Tindick, the provincial agricultural officer, places the province’s cassava surplus at around 40 percent. Some of which reach markets in Sabah, Malaysia which is just few hours travel from Tawi-Tawi, and even in the municipality of Siasi in Sulu.
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/244817/tawitawi-celebrates-cassava-fest
