BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya —In an attempt to help rescue the ailing citrus industry in the mining town of Kasibu in this province, OceanaGold (Philippines) Inc. (OGPI), which operates the Didipio Mine, has recently organized a forum among local citrus farmers in the upland town.
The forum is first among the initiatives the company wants to roll out to revive the town’s ailing citrus industry. This town is home to the country’s first locally bred Perante Orange. Nueva Vizcaya has taken over the title of “Citrus Capital of the Philippines” from Batangas after the province suffered from citrus tristeza virus (CTV), which damages the fruit.
Studies show that the CTV led to the devastation of citrus groves all over the world and has rendered millions more unproductive. Farmers in the west baptized it “tristeza”, the Spanish term for sadness, because of the devastation caused by the disease in the mid-1930s. It is commonly transmitted by the brown citrus aphids.
As a citrus haven, experts believe that Malabing Valley, also in Kasibu, has been exposed to the dreadful disease through the propagation of rootstocks with scions infected with the virus unwittingly imported from disease-stricken provinces down south.
Reports said the citrus-growing villages of Tadji, Malabing, Binogawan, Wangal, Papaya and Capisaan in the upland town have already been infected by the disease. About a thousand hectares of rolling farms were planted to mixed citrus varieties.
“It precisely of this reason that we initially conducted a citrus forum among our local farmers to educate them further on how to prevent the devastating virus from spreading further and to teach them proper production and post-harvest techniques,” said Chito Gozar, OceanaGold Philippines Senior Vice President for Communications and External Affairs.
Dr. Pio Javier, an entomologist from University of the Philippines, was commissioned by the Australian mining firm to conduct onsite investigation to come up with the real score on caused the devastation and answer problems now confronting the citrus industry in town.
“Citrus is a nutritious high-value fruit, which is incidentally grown in our backyard, a hand-reach away to our dining tables, where we feed 2,000 mining employees three times a day. This is one of the logical reasons we would like to extend our helping hands to our citrus farmers, after all, mining and agriculture can co-exist,” Gozar said.
Image credits: Leonardo Perante II
2 comments
This is the face of mining the public should see. All they’re fed are the ranting propaganda of leftists posing as environmentalists.
Once I lectured a WWF volunteer at NAIA 2, he mentioned their group is against mining, but he had no idea at all that the structure he was in will not stand without mining. He was campaigning for the Earth Hour then and was also gathering signatures as well. I advised him that instead of spending time in an airconditioned place, he should go out in the squatters’ area and educate people on proper waste disposal, the dangers of using electric jumpers and maybe family planning.