Photo courtesy of PNA
The city government is developing a five-hectare demonstration farm for ube as Leyte Rep. Richard Gomez pushes for stronger government support for the purple yam industry.
The pilot site is intended to showcase commercial production methods and encourage more farmers to grow the high-value crop.
Gomez said preparations were underway and that planting materials would come from the Philippine Root Crop Research and Training Center at Visayas State University in Baybay City.
The center produces tissue-cultured planting materials of Ube Variety VU-2, which is recommended by the National Seed Industry Council.
Gomez also filed House Bill No. 10225 on Aug. 2 seeking to declare ube a national priority crop and establish a coordinated framework for its development.
The measure proposes the creation of a Philippine Ube Industry Council and expanded support for research, production, processing, branding and exports.
PhilRootcrops said demand for ube products had grown in domestic and foreign markets, but farmers continued to face declining output, limited resources and small-scale production systems.
Available data from the center showed that Philippine ube production fell from about 30,074 metric tons in 2006 to around 14,000 metric tons in 2020.
