Fruit producer-distributor Dole Philippines is looking into setting up banana and pineapple plantations in the Negros Occidental region – a province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas – in a bid to escape typhoon damage, reports sunstar.com.ph.
Former governor Rafael Coscolluela told the site yesterday (23 January) that Dole Philippines is looking for potential areas for its plantations in this province – known for its sugar production – because Mindanao, where its fruit is currently grown, is now regularly hit by typhoons.
Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr told the publication that Dole had already had a pilot banana plantation in the province’s Himamaylan City.
Coscolluela said that aside from Himamaylan, Dole is eyeing another plantation in Murcia.
However Dole is struggling to find plots large enough for its needs (200-300ha) in the province, the report said, because most of the land belongs to landless farmers under the government’s Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
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