The 14th National Mango Congress 2012 will focus on efficient and sustainable production as well as increased investment in mango tourism. The annual event will be held on November 14-16 at the JCentre Mall Convention Hall, A.S. Fortuna St., Mandaue City in Cebu.
The congress will address two serious concerns, according to Virginia de la Fuente, president of the Philippine Mango Industry Foundation, Inc. (PMIFI) which is collaborating with other agencies to stage the event.
The first concern is the fast dwindling volume of mango production in the country. For instance, in 2007, the total production amounted to 1.028 billion kilos whereas in 2011 the volume had gone down to 778 million kilos. That’s a decrease of about 25 percent.
Another concern to be addressed is the low farmgate prices due to the volatile demand from major fresh mango importing countries, mainly Hong Kong. One of the proposed strategies is to promote mango tourism.
De la Fuente explained that fresh ripe mangoes can be best eaten where they are homegrown. So she said the industry leaders want to develop unique mango tourism-related projects that will attract more tourists spending more money in the Philippines, which could ultimately increase the farmgate prices of mango.
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A mechanical engineer from Northern Samar who has piloted the village-level production of biomass ethanol from coco and nipa sap is pushing for the establishment of more coco ethanol production plants not only in Samar but in strategic coconut-producing areas in the Philippines. These, he said, will provide a sustainable source of livelihood for coconut farmers. Engr. Jaime P. Gilbuela sees an unlimited market potential for coco ethanol particularly with the implementation of the Philippines Biofuels Act of 2006 which, he said, will require around 500 million liters yearly of ethanol as gasoline