DA trains bizmen, farmers on cultivating soybeans

• Source:https://www.manilatimes.net/da-trains-bizmen-farmers-on-cultivating-soybeans/572165/
• Monday June 24, 2019

By LEANDER C. DOMINGO (TMT)

THE Department of Agriculture’s Regional Field Office 1 (DA-RFO 1) has been training farmers and entrepreneurs in the Ilocos region on growing and processing soybeans, or utaw, whose importance as a leguminous crop has increased.

According to Melinda Calumpit, lead implementor of the “Enhancing Organic Soybean Production and Processing for Improved Local Supply and Utilization in Region 1” project in 2011, members of the People’s Rural Organization for Sustainable Economic and Environmental Development (Proseed), as well as farmers and investors from the region, participated in a training in Pangasinan province

This training, held in Bolo village in Pangasinan’s Labrador town last month, featured lectures and demonstrations on the processing of soya into various food items, such as soyamilk, tofu, lumpiang shanghai, patties, taho, chips, soy macaroons, fish ball and coffee.

“The business interest of the participants, through the activities [held] during the training, was developed, and initially two [of] the participants have decided to venture [into] soybeans,” Calumpit said.

They are Rhenzy Ungria, owner of a canteen-based business at Manila’s Paco district who decided to sell soya-based drinks, instead of soda, to comply with a school management order banning the latter; and his brother Jojo, owner of a noodle restaurant in Pangasinan’s San Fabian town, who prefers to use tokwa as garnish for noodles.

Calumpit said there was a need to further develop the interest of farmers in soybean, adding that the trainings the DA-RFO 1’s research and development division offered “include production technology and actual demonstration of processing and utilization of organic soybean.”

“We have an increasing number of farmer-adoptors, which resulted in the improvement [in the] production of locally produced organic soybean, [which] [was] proven to be economical and [of] better quality,” she said.

“Their (farmers in the region) interest in soybean production has improved their livelihood.”

Soybean, Calumpit explained, is beneficial to the soil because of the presence of bacteria in its root nodules, which is responsible for converting nutrients from the atmosphere and the soil into a form that the crop can use.

“[S]oybean is also a good source of protein, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, fiber and other trace substances.…” she said.

Meanwhile, DA-RFO 1 officials said they would provide seed inoculants, organic fertilizers, biological control agents, foliar fertilizers or concoctions, as well as technical assistance.

“This is one way for us to promote the commodity and inspire more farmers to become more [involved] in soybean production and processing, other than the provision of planting materials,” Calumpit said.