KASIBU, Nueva Vizcaya — The municipality of Kasibu is being positioned as the Citrus Hub of Northern Luzon following the turnover of a P8-million four-unit citrus nursery facility to the Malabing Valley Multipurpose Cooperative (MVMPC).
The Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office 2 (DA-RFO2) for Cagayan Valley awarded the facility on Aug. 24, 2026, in Malabing in this upland town.
The facility is designed to produce quality planting materials and promote sustainable citrus production, a move expected to expand planted areas and raise farmer incomes through value-adding.
The recipient, MVMPC, was organized in 1989 and now has more than 300 active members. The cooperative is engaged in socioeconomic development, cooperative governance and member empowerment, and runs training programs for young farmers. At present, it is handling five to 10 trainees focused on citrus production and related activities.
In its one-hectare nursery, MVMPC markets citrus varieties including calamandarin oranges, mandarin — satsuma and ponkan — and pomelos to other parts of Luzon.
Kasibu was declared by the Department of Agriculture as the Citrus Capital of Luzon in June 2022. The town has close to 700 hectares planted to citrus, with potential expansion of another 500 hectares and an estimated annual output of up to 30,420 metric tons, according to DA data.
Citrus is considered among the top high-value crops in the country, and Cagayan Valley is identified as one of the major citrus-producing regions.
DA Region 2 Executive Director Rose Mary Aquino said the nursery is intended to help MVMPC become the hub for Northern Luzon.
"Let's spread the citrus of Nueva Vizcaya, even to any region. It is not all about the inauguration; it is all about building trust again for the Malabing Valley Multipurpose Cooperative because soon you will become the Citrus Hub of Northern Luzon," Aquino said.
The DA said the initiative aligns with the directive of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. to support local citrus and high-value fruit production and to expand market opportunities and export of farm products.
Provincial support
The provincial government of Nueva Vizcaya led by Gov. Jose Gambito has identified citrus as a priority commodity for agricultural modernization and enterprise development.
Gambito said the provincial government has linked its programs to research and infrastructure support for the industry.
In March 2025, the Phil-Citrus Resources Development Center was opened at Nueva Vizcaya State University (NVSU), funded under Phase 1 with P20 million and Phase 2 with P52 million to advance research and development for citrus.
The provincial government said its initiatives align with the center, with Gambito pushing for agricultural modernization and education-driven development that will directly benefit local farmers and young agriculturists.
Earlier, the DA-Philippine Rural Development Project turned over a P193-million Malabing farm-to-market road to Kasibu, a project described as set to transform the agricultural landscape of the area known as the Citrus Capital of the North.
The road was initiated during the term of former governor Ruth Padilla as a citrus commodity project and completed under the current administration as a manifestation of unified efforts to support agriculture in the province.
DA officials said continued support would include technology adaptation, food processing, marketing and digital agriculture.
"The DA will continue to support the citrus industry and collaborate with the provincial government of Nueva Vizcaya to support the fast-growing agricultural industry of Kasibu," DA Undersecretary for High Value Crops Cherry Marie Natividad-Caballero said during the recent citrus festival.
Analysts said the combination of quality planting materials from the new nursery, research backing from NVSU, improved farm-to-market access, and cooperative-led production in Malabing Valley positions Kasibu to scale up its role from production center to value-adding hub for Northern Luzon.
