9-Pt Plan To Sharpen Mango Industry Global Competitiveness

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is mounting a nine-point program to raise mango production and sharpen the global competitiveness of the industry. This includes building post-harvest facilities and improving national regulatory services.

DA Secretary Arthur Yap told a recent gathering of mango growers and exporters that the industry has scored significant achievements amid the challenges of bad weather and pest and diseases, enabling growers and traders to contribute P19.8 billion to the country’s total agri-cultural value. It exported 32,000 metric tons of fresh, processed and dried mangoes worth $40.7 million to 48 countries worldwide.

"It is therefore prudent and necessary for stakeholders from farmers, traders, processors and exporters to continuously improve the quality of Philippine mangoes by employing modern, efficient, environment-friendly and sustainable practices, from the farm to various market destinations, so the Philippines could maintain her distinction as the source of the best and sweetest mango in the world," said Yap.

Mango ranks third as the most important fruit in the country in terms of volume of production and area after banana and pineapple.

Undersecretary Bernie Fondevilla said the DA is now investing funds and mobilizing resources to accomplish its nine-point mango industry program, comprising the following:

1. Provision of chemicals for flower induction;
2. Conduct of training and training-related events on pest management;
3. Maintenance of existing nurseries and scion groves to ensure the availability of high quality planting materials;
4. Building of additional postharvest facilities (packinghouse, extended hot water treatment facilities);
5. Making credit more affordable and easier to obtain in support of farmers’ expansion plans and other initiatives;
6. Bringing Filipino fruit farmers timely market information, and facilitate all the linkages they require to make fruit farming profitable, productive, and globally competitive;
7. Enhancing national regulatory services, including certification systems, and pest risk analysis and food safety services;
8. Developing and promoting better mango farming technologies nationwide by enhancing research, development and extension services; and
9. Ensuring that an integrated approach is taken at the farm level so that our farmers at all times have the necessary requisites to produce higher yields of the best possible quality.

The Philippine Mango Industry Federation (PMIF) and other mango stakeholders can com-plement this program through the production and provision of inputs (organic fertilizers, pesticides and other bio-pesticides); construction of a packinghouse per area as common service facility to ensure the supply of quality mango fruits; and creation of a marketing arm that will seek new and expand existing markets, trading partner-ships and investments, here and abroad, Fondevilla suggested.

In 2008, the total existing production area of 186,821 hectares for mangoes produced a combined volume of 884,037 metric tons.

The Ilocos Region registered the highest production volume in 2008 at 382,569 metric tons or about 43 percent of the total national production volume.

Other top mango-producing regions in 2008 were Central Luzon (68,314 MT); Cagayan Valley (66,209 MT); Central Visayas (65,818 MT) and Zamboanga Peninsula (53,113 MT).

In terms of area planted for 2008, Central Luzon had an existing area of 33,371 hectares, which accounts for 18 percent of the total area planted.

Other top regions in terms of area are the Ilocos Region (22,099 ha); Davao Region (18,137 ha); South Cotabato-Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat-Sarrangani-General Santor (16,747 ha); and Zamboanga Peninsula (16,521 ha). /MP