By Leo Udtohan
A business magnate in Bohol province is urging farmers to plant corn and cassava due to the commodities’ emerging local market demand.
Marlito Uy, chief executive officer of Marcela Farms, said that local farmers should realize that these crops are potential raw materials for processing and value adding.
"We need five million kilos or 100 million kilos per month of corn. We are willing to help our farmers. We could provide farm equipment and fertilizer to increase their production and we will buy their products," said Uy during the blessing and ribbon cutting ceremony of their new Marcela Farms feedmill on Wednesday (Nov. 16) in Barangay Lomangog in Ubay town.
So far, they sourced out corn from Mindanao.
"I asked the provincial government to partner with us in assisting our farmers to increase their inputs. In Bohol, farmers can produce three to four tons of corn per hectare," he added.
Bohol has devoted 45% land area to agriculture with rice as number one staple. It is considered the rice bowl in Central Visayas. However, there are no more 100 hectares of sporadic and backyard -based corn plantations.
Data from the Bohol Economic Development and Investment Promotion Office (Bedipo) said that rice production in the province produced 225,548 metric tons or covers 70,117.00 ha of which only 56.11% or 39,346.00 ha are irrigated areas.
In 2018, there are about 11,983 ha of land harvested with corn or 11,216 metric tons. Much of these lands are utilized for white corn production and some lands for yellow corn production.
Being an alternative food for rice, corn is consumed by about 16% of Bohol’s population. The industrial demand for this crop is also increasing, as the livestock sector in the province continues to prosper.
Marcela Farms, part of the Alturas Group of Companies (AGC), has opened the P500-million Marcela Farms feed mill which has the capacity to produce 30 tons of hog and poultry feeds per hour considered among Asia’s few large-scale feed mills.
The new multi-story structure incorporates top-of-the-line Dutch company Van Aarsen International equipment is the third mill of the company.
The automated feed production line takes care of the intake, grinding, mixing, pelleting, and bagging of animal and aqua feeds. It serves the dietary requirements of all Marcela Farms’ livestock and aqua operations while utilizing efficient waste management.
The new technology at the mill would help make production workers more efficient and constructive. The company added that the mill is spacious, with abundant warehouse storage and room to work.
“We have been in the agri business for forty years, and it is a crucial part of the success of the Alturas Group. The farm is our main source of livestock for Alturas Malls, providing consistent and high-quality produce for Bohol, Cebu, and other areas,” said Uy.
Marcela Farms serves the food needs - hogs, chicken, eggs, prawns, fish, and rice of the province and institutional customers all over the country and abroad.
Alongside local food security, Marcela Farms believes that sustainability through environmental protection is a must. It supports the Alturas Group’s commitment to sustainable practices and technology.
To reduce its carbon footprint, the company operates the biggest solar farm project in Bohol, with a combined capacity of two megawatts. The excess power is delivered to the local grid as part of the government’s net metering scheme.
Marcela Farms also has a biomass facility responsible for compacting 100% rice hulls used as solid biofuel for industrial plant boilers and as bedding for poultry breeding sites.
Moreover, its organic fertilizer facility has an operating capacity of at least 350 bags a day, while its rendering facility converts 100% poultry plant waste into protein meal for feeds.
Marcela Farms also had the first certified animal-waste biogas in Southeast Asia in 2012. Two biogas installations are currently operational - one supplies 1.5 megawatts for the hog farm, and the other provides methane fuel for plant boilers.
The mill also provided jobs to at least hundred of Boholanos.
The event was attended by Governor Aris Aumentado, former Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) assistant secretary and now provincial administrator Aster Caberte, Bishop Abet Uy, Ubay Mayor Constantino Reyes and officials, San Miguel Mayor Ian Uy, Alicia Mayor Cesyl Balahay, Barangay Lomangog Captain Felix Cutamora, Peter Dejaresco, Dr. Bing Lapiz, farmers' groups and suppliers.
Aumentado said that Alturas has become a part of the lives of the Boholanos and through their different businesses across the province, many have benefitted from the comfort they have provided.
"This project will also help us in the pursuit of agricultural development in our province. Through this, we can aim for a higher production of hog and poultry feeds that will make us a prime producer of the said product," said Aumentado.
He also emphasized that for more raw materials in the production of feeds, farmers can avail from the provincial government the necessary asssitance and loans for the purchase of materials like fertilizers, and also the purchase of their harvests through the buyback scheme.
Caberte said it was only Uy who dared to take the challenge to venture on this kind of business.
Benedicto Atuel, 65, a farmer from Barangay Bay-ang in Ubay town, shared that he was happy that Marcela Farms is interested to buy their products.
He said they have assurance that they can sell their product in the market.
As survivor of typhoon Odette that destroyed their farmlands last year, he needed support to bounce back.
As the group approaches its 50th anniversary in 2023, AGC brings forward values unique to the brand, anchored on strategic, sustainable progress and in line with its main slogan, "Serving the community, uplifting lives."
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