Manila, March 10 -- The town of Matag-ob, Leyte is now ready to start its fruit tree planting initiatives with five fruits identified as the priority to make the locality the premier fruit basket in Eastern Visayas.

Mayor Bernandino Tacoy, in an interview Monday, said after their benchmarking in Kidapawan City in Cotabato last month they will now focus on planting jackfruit, lanzones, mangosteen, durian, and guyabano.

"Currently, we are getting most of our fruits from Mindanao. Our goal is to produce fruits in Leyte, make idle lands productive, and help mitigate the impact of climate change," he said.

Under this initiative, the local government will set up nurseries. They will also enter agreements with landowners to allow the planting...