DENR-7 operates the 2 million reg’l clonal nursery in Cebu

By Hazel F. Gloria

Wednesday 8th of August 2012

CEBU CITY, August 8 (PIA) -- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-7 has started operating a P2.3-million regional clonal nursery in Camp 7 Minglanilla, Cebu.

DENR-7 Regional Executive Director Dr. Isabelo Montejo said the project is in line with the national greening program (NGP) of the government and is one of the strategies implemented to meet the national target of planting 1.5 billion trees in some 1.5 million hectares until 2016.

The newly completed 3-hectare clonal nursery intends to produce 20 million seedlings until year 2016 with a project cost of more than P18 million.

Supervised by the Ecosystems Research and Development Services (ERDS), the said clonal nursery is now presently accommodating 230,000 seedlings in its hardening area, 26,310 cuttings per cycle in its rooting beds or mist system, and 6,944 cuttings per cycle in its recovery area.

In May 2012, ERDS started the operation of the nursery and it has already produced some 8.8 million seedlings of indigenous and fruit tree species.

Montejo said, “our intention is to produce high quality planting materials for the NGP requirements in the region as we set aggressive greening efforts purposely to reduce poverty while ensuring food security, biodiversity conservation and address climate change.”

In an inventory conducted by DENR 7 last July, 23.4 million seedlings are now produced in various field offices in the four provinces of Central Visayas.

Meanwhile, Montejo instructed all field officials to ensure the proper maintenance of the existing nurseries so that they would be able to supply the needed seedlings for various tree planting and growing program.(HFG/PIA-7/DENR-7)