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17 additional farm plots in Kagman to be opened
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Posted on Feb 02 2009
At least 17 additional commercial farm plots in Kagman will be opened, according to Agriculture director Richard B. Seman.
This will be in addition to the 30 parcels of land in Kagman leased each year to commercial farmers. At present, there are only 24 active leases in the area.
About 80 percent of the vendors at the Sabalu Market and the Tuesday Night Market are Kagman commercial farmers.
“We’re working toward opening at least 17 additional farm plots adjacent to the existing farm plots,” said Seman.
Each parcel of land leased to commercial farmers has an average of 10,000 sq. meters. The lease is 1 to 2 cents per square meter.
“One parcel of land costs $100 to $200 a month…but of course you will always have delinquent tenants, those who are unable to pay on time,” the Agriculture director said.
The Division of Agriculture provides irrigation and farm equipment services to these commercial farmers.
But Seman said once the submersible water pump breaks down, fixing it automatically costs Agriculture $1,500 to $2,000, which is almost the amount collected by the government from the commercial farm plot leases in Kagman every month.
“What we use for the maintenance of the irrigation and the tractors are the collections from land leases, and they’re not enough,” he said.
Earlier, Agriculture said it receives only $8,000 in operational budget every year, which has been hurting services to farmers and ranchers. For example, the division has stopped lending its tractors to farmers because none of the three tractors is working due to lack of money to buy parts.
Seman said Agriculture has an added responsibility over the ground maintenance of the Kagman watershed project.
