THE LANAO del Sur government has identified coffee and abaca among its priority products for development through partnerships with various groups. The provincial government signed two agreements during the Marawi-Lanao Agribusiness Forum and Market Matching on July 17-18 in Marawi City for the developments of the two crops, according to a press statement released by the Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) project yesterday. One of the agreements is with the Philippine Coffee Board, and the other with the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority and NewTech Pulp, a private company, “to initiate action plans to expand abaca production and village-level processing in the province.” SURGE, a project funded by the United States Agency for International Development, supported the event organized by the Bangon Marawi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It was intended to help farmers gain “market information on viable agricultural crops and the opportunity to forge partnerships with key private companies.” About 500 displaced farmers from Marawi joined the event, along with representatives from SL Agritech Production, East West Seed Corp., Pilmico Food Corp., UGP Group and Matling Corp. Aside from coffee and abaca, it was also discussed during the forum possible “partnership schemes for agricultural products that are highly suitable in Lanao area” such as cassava, poultry, rice, banana and native scallion. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

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