By Matthan Luceño

The Department of Agriculture - Region X initiated the regional strategic planning for its Vegetable Development Program (VDP) with the leaders of vegetable growers from five provinces in Northern Mindanao.

Held at the Chali Beach Resort in Cagayan de Oro City, the said workshop focused on reviewing and validating the region’s agriculture roadmap for vegetable production with the responses from farmer representatives, public officials and private sector.

Included in the review was the realignment of strategic directions and program priorities among the different layers of local government. The realization of the strategic plan will contribute to the increase of regional gross domestic product thus improving the quality of life of the farmers.

Xavier University – Governance and Leadership Institute (XU-GLI) director Dr Dixon Yasay shared on how vegetable growers can engage with their respective LGUs to avail their resources and garner their support for the local vegetable industry. He emphasized that if the resources of the LGU will be tapped effectively, vegetable production will “surely increase.”

Yasay explained that the LGU is multi-structured, multi-layered and multi-functional that when a certain LGU is not well equipped to deal in an engagement with another organization, the project’s success could be elusive.