TUBA, Benguet — The massive propagation of sunflower in denuded portions of the Cordillera which is considered to be landslide-prone is best for erosion control while awaiting the growth of trees planted by both government and civic groups in relation to the massive reforestation program in a bid to save the rapidly deteriorating watersheds and forests.

This was underscored by Assistant Secretary for Luzon Operations Rigidor de Leon of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) who claimed the unique way of reforesting denuded mountain tops is to massively propagate sunflower and allow them to freely grow in identified soil erosion areas.

In order to realize the immediate benefit of the vegetative control through sunflowers, De Leon explained the seedlings must be scattered in barren mountain tops to allow them to grow and serve as a major tourist attraction because of its yellow flowers which could be seen from a distance.

Once the sunflower plants started flowering, the seeds which are created usually fall on the lower portions of the mountains and cascade, thereby allowing the growth of new sunflower plants in lower areas until such time that most of the barren mountains are already covered by the colorful plant to serve as vegetative control.

De Leon cited the need for an all-out support from all sectors of the region relative to the effort of the Regional Development Council (RDC) in the Cordillera to solicit all available resources to fast-track the renewed commitment to rehabilitate and manage the region’s deteriorating state of watersheds and forests.