Minfruit holds seminar on good aggie practices on mango

As part of its on-going efforts to upgrade the agricultural practices of local fruit growers, the Minfruit Council recently held a series of seminars on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for Mango Production in Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato and Sarangani Province. More than 200 participants – mostly individual mango growers, spray-contractors and LGU technicians – attended the one-day seminar. The Mango GAP Training included modules on best cultivation practices for mango, as well as discussions of internationally-accepted GAP standards for soil and water quality, fertilizer application, application of agro-chemicals, worker health and safety practices, harvest and post-harvest handling techniques and the establishment of a product traceability system.

The Mango GAP was developed recently by the Bureau of Agricultural and Fishery Product Standards (BAFPS), in response to the stringent food safety and quarantine requirements of major importing countries like Japan and South Korea. The Mango GAP seeks to introduce a set of farming practices which conforms with internationally-accepted norms in the production and export of fresh agricultural products.

During the past year, the Japanese government threatened to ban fresh mango shipments from the Philippines, due to higher-than-allowed pesticide residue limits. To help address this problem, Minfruit has embarked on a series of information dissemination campaigns, and has implemented training in key mango production areas in Mindanao. The training promotes the judicious application of agro-chemicals during mango production.

More than 500 Mindanao mango growers have attended these seminars, which were held in Davao, Sosksargen and Northern Mindanao regions. USAID’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) program, provided technical assistance and co-funding for the first Mango GAP training program, which was conducted in the Sosksargen Region.

Similar Mango GAP seminars are being planned by Minfruit in Davao, Caraga and Northern Mindanao in partnership with local mango growers group, the Department of Agriculture (DA) and several private companies. – GEM Program