Some 105,000 hectares of non-tillage lands in Davao City are being eyed as agro-forestry areas after Mayor Sara Duterte stressed in her recent state-of-the-city address the importance of agro-forestry in the rehabilitation of the city’s the upland agricultural areas.
City agriculturist Leo Avila said the City has allocated P8-million as initial funding for agro-forestry program this year. for seedlings and trainings for farmers.
“Agro-forestry addresses poverty in the uplands, increases the productivity of small farmers and protects our watershed,” Avila said during his guesting at Marco Polo’s Club 888 media forum.
He said that out of the 163,000 hectares classified as agricultural lands in the city, the city has identified 105,000 hectares based on terrain analysis as suitable areas for agro-forestry.
Among the preferred trees and crops for the city’s agro-forestry program are cacao, coffee, coconut, abaca and rubber.
The city has developed a five-hectare central nursery in Malagos district and eight satellite nurseries spread out in the barangays within the five watershed areas of the Davao river, Lasang, Talomo, Lipadas. [R, Alama/PIA]
