WHILE in Northern Mindanao for a 400-metric ton (MT) rice turnover, Ambassador Kim In-chul of South Korea stopped by two world-leading Korean companies in Region 10.
On March 21 Kim visited the site of Daesang tapioca starch manufacturing facility in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, which is currently under construction and will start its operation in August.
The $20-million project will produce 33,000 tons of tapioca starch and 4,446 tons of tapioca residue annually. It will bring the cassava starch production capacity of the Philippines from 370,000 MT to 403,000 MT.
As the facility will need 500 tons of fresh cassava per day, the project is expected to benefit and empower local cassava farmers.
Kim also inspected the CJ Feed manufacturing plant in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon. The plant produces 12,000 tons of its popular high-quality animal feed monthly. With the plant, the firm aids local farmers by procuring corn from them.
CJ Feed and Care built its first feed manufacturing plant in Bulacan in 1997, and expanded its business to Mindanao in 2018.
According to the South Korean Embassy, the companies serve as “inspiring stories of agricultural entrepreneurship in Northern Mindanao with their unwavering commitment to growing together with local communities. They will continue their endeavors to improve agricultural productivity and attain food security in the Philippines.”