Sweet pepper as a money-maker

By ZAC B. SARIAN
August 26, 2009, 4:05pm

The September issue of Agriculture Magazine features sweet pepper as a favorite money-maker of many high-value vegetable farmers. Of course, they have good reasons for preferring to plant this crop.
For one, there are now new hybrids that are not only fruitful, they could also be grown throughout the year because they are more resistant to the usual pests and stresses during the rainy season. Another reason is that the productive period of sweet pepper is longer than most other vegetables given the right cultural and management requirements.
Also one good reason is that the sweet pepper usually fetches a high price.
Wilfredo Rios of Brgy. Lao in Ormoc City is one satisfied grower of sweet pepper. He usually rotates it with other crops so that build up of pests and other problems are avoided. One time, he planted 3,000 seedlings of the Emperor variety. He harvested fruits from this particular crop for several months, averaging a sale of P13,500 per week.
The September issue also features the latest developments in sweetpotato research at the Philippine Root Crop Research and Training Center (PhilRootcrops) based at the Visayas State University in Baybay, Leyte. Also featured is the vast potential of banana “rejects” in Mindanao which could be made into banana meal as ingredient in animal feeds, food grade banana flour, bananaketchup and others.
You will also read about the new glutinous rice varieties as reported by Adrielle Solsoloy of the Philippine Rice Research Institute. These include NSIC Rc13, 15, 17 and NSIC Rc 19.
Also featured are the success stories of a pilot who does his own brand of organic farming, the couple who started the “Pagkain para sa Masa” program in Mindanao, a Mindanaoan who brought improved farming practices to Mindoro, and others.