To immerse the farmers from Sto. Niño and Solana, Cagayan on off-season onion production and balanced fertilization and pesticide use strategy and eventually transfer these technologies to them, the DA-Cagayan Valley organized a field day on 23 January 2024 at Centro Norte, Sto. Niño, Cagayan.
Salvador M. Bulda of DA-Nueva Vizcaya Experiment Station (NVES) showcased the off-season onion production technology which included the use of Super Pinoy variety, rain shelter, raised beds, and cropping period of August to December, as well as soil analysis-based fertilizer management and use of calcium boron, and integrated pest management employing the use biocontrol agents such as Trichoderma. The said technology was made available through the DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research-funded scaling out project implemented by DA-NVES.
Meanwhile, spearheaded by Edelwina T. Valdez and showcased by Rowena A. Fernandez of DA-Southern Cagayan Research Center, the technologies for vegetable production included the use of organic and inorganic fertilizers, foliar fertilizer, organic and inorganic pesticide management, biological control, and cultural management practices.
“We are thankful to DA-Cagayan Valley for granting us the opportunity to cultivate off-season onions and explore balanced fertilization and pesticide use strategies. Though it was initially challenging, akin to nurturing a newborn, the rewards were evident in the bountiful crop,” said farmer-cooperator Ramon M. Daquioag in mix Ilocano and Filipino.
“We wholeheartedly embrace this technology, recognizing its significance in securing our livelihoods and empowering us to educate fellow farmers in other barangays in Sto. Niño, Cagayan,” said farmer-cooperator Charibel T. Uy in mix Ilocano and Filipino.
Gracing the activity were DA-Cagayan Valley led by its Research Division chief Chonalyn A. Pascua, Sto. Niño vice mayor Andrew Vincent R. Pagurayan and municipal agriculturist Rosalie S. Tumaneng, and Centro Norte barangay captain Orlando D. Simeon.