DA-7 professionalizes mango growers to meet demands

CEBU, Philippines - In order to meet the market demand for high quality of mangoes in Central Visayas, the Department of Agriculture (DA) 7 aims to organize mango growers into professional associations or cooperatives.

Wilberto Castillo, chief of the Regional Coordinator Crop Protection of DA-7, said that around 73 percent of mango growers in the region are backyard farmers and only a mere 27 percent are into mango plantation.

“There is a very huge demand for export of fresh mangoes as well as dried mango products but the problem lies with production. We cannot supply the increasing demand,” said Castillo.

Since most mango growers are just backyard farmers, Castillo said the vision to expand and boost production is hampered.

“The backyard mango farming refers to 20 to 30 mango trees being planted while big-time mango growers refer to mango plantation of at least two hectares,” he said.

They are currently providing orientation and hands-on training to mango growers in their five Farmer Field Schools (FFS) based in Cebu.

The DA already established five farmer field schools to train and educate mango growers on the proper agricultural practice to boost mango production. The farmer field schools (FFS) are established in the cities of Toledo, Danao, and Mandaue of which the latter have two farmer schools located in Paril and Subangdaku and in the town of Compostela.

“Our ultimate goal is to organize these mango growers into professional associations or cooperatives to boost mango production,” Castillo said.

In 2010, the overall mango production in the region was at 71,000 metric tons, based on the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics under the DA 7.

According to Virginia de la Fuente, president of the National Mango Growers Association, Cebu mangoes are specifically in demand abroad because of its high quality and taste.

“Cebu mangoes have the distinct flavor of both sweetness and sourness which cannot be found in other mangoes,” De la Fuente said.

Fresh Cebu mangoes are currently being shipped to countries like Hongkong, Japan and Australia. But the volume is lesser than the demand, Castillo said.

Castillo said that in order to help mango growers maximize their production output, they have provided 300 bags of flower inducers to mango growers here.

Each bag of flower inducer costs P2,500 each which aids mango growers to have positive yield.

Castillo expressed optimism that with the season-long training that they provided to mango growers here, from pruning to flowering until the harvest stage, the mango industry would face a brighter future ahead.—(FREEMAN)