Eastern Visayas: A root crop powerhouse

BAYBAY CITY, Leyte — Eastern Visayas currently possesses robust growth in root crop production and is meeting the growing local demands in the Luzon area.

Marlon Magalona Tambis, assistant director of the Philippine Root Crop Research and Training Center, made the remark during the Root Crop Fiesta at Visayas State University Wednesday.

“Eastern Visayas is the number one producer of sweet potatoes in the entire Philippines, including the increasing production and increasing demand of cassava and ube. Now, we have important players, processors of these root crops,” he said.

“Also in Leyte, we in Region 8, are among the leading suppliers of kamote [sweet potatoes] in Manila. Truckloads of sweet potatoes are now being transported to Manila every week,” he said.

Tambis said that if root crop growers would follow the recommended planting practices, the production cost of sweet potatoes would be cheap.

“The sweet potato, you can produce it for only P5 per kilo, and you can sell it for P20 and P25, even P40, depending on the market,” he said.