Some 115 farmers from Badoc and Paoay, Ilocos Norte were trained on the latest garlic production technologies so that they could produce high quality garlic bulbs.

The training, which was held at the University Training Center on Oct. 3, also serves as requirement before farmers can avail of an interest-free loan of garlic planting materials by the university’s Seed Dispersal Project implemented by the Extension Directorate. The Garlic SDP is in line with MMSU’s project on “Revitalizing the garlic industry through sustainable support system.”

Dr. Marilou P. Lucas, extension director, said the training is one of the main components of the SDP that allows farmers to learn the latest technologies so that they would increase their garlic harvest in the next cropping seasons. This will result in the production of high quality garlic planting materials to help meet the demand for garlic.

It is recalled that the Department of Agriculture has tapped the services of MMSU, along with five other state agencies, to help revive the ailing Ilocos garlic and  allotted some P10-M for a sustainable seed support project. The other agencies are the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte, DA-BAR, ILAARRDEC, PhilRice-Batac, and the Bureau of Plant Industry.

Dr. Prima Fe R. Franco, MMSU’s vice president for research and extension, said the increase in the production of high quality garlic bulbs in the province will be realized through a sustainable seed support system which will be jointly implemented by MMSU and the implementing agencies.

Under the proposed program, the university will give the farmers an interest-free loan of garlic planting materials to be used in their succeeding garlic planting seasons. These materials shall be returned just after harvest. Last cropping season, the university planted five hectares of its more than 200-hectare production area in the main campus solely for high quality garlic varieties such as the Ilocos White, Cabuyao, Ilocos Pink, and Tan Bolters.

Working in partnership with the other agencies, the university is now stepping up moves to enhance the capability of the garlic growers in producing high quality planting materials so that they could sustain the garlic seed system in the province.

Going through the same vein is the plan to expand the area planted with garlic through this scheme; and strengthen the linkages among farmers, government agencies and non-government organizations to improve the producers’ marketing scheme.

MMSU President Miriam E. Pascua urged the farmers to support this program of reviving the province’s reputation as producer of biggest and high quality garlic bulbs in the country.

“Although imported garlic is destroying the price of the locally produced variety, we should still raise the standard of our own product in terms of quality and volume,” she said adding that “we may be left behind in the size, but the quality is way above those being produced in other countries.”

She assured the farmers that the university is continuing its efforts to improve its researches on garlic which will include some value-added products such as garlic oil, powder, medicine, and other pharmaceutical products.

“Researches are now underway to utilize garlic as medicine. There is a move to produce capsulized garlic as cure of high blood pressure,” she said.