Mindanao eyed as huge market for veggies

Davao City (30 March) — There’s a huge market for vegetables in Mindanao and yet farmers produce the product for the Luzon area.

This was the observation made by Dante Sarraga, Jr., executive vice president of the Philippine Vegetable Industry Development Board during the Club 888 Forum at The Marco Polo Hotel yesterday.

Sarraga said if the vegetable produce are marketed within Mindanao, farmers will earn more instead of the products shipped to Manila where the transport time run up to 52 hours and have to l wait for 70 days to get paid.

“If transaction is done here mas madali kasi kaliwaan lang yan, you deliver the product and get paid immediately,” he said.

Although Sarraga said their Luzon market has already been established and Mindanao market still need to be developed.

Department of Agriculture regional technical director Romeo Falcon said there is low consumption of vegetable here.

He said there is a need to improve on this aspect because aside from the health benefit, it will also improve the economy.

Sarraga who is also a member of the Normin Veggies said that their area supply about 70 percent of the requirements of the entire Mindanao even as he said that they (Normin Veggies) corner 70 percent of the market share in Metro Manila.

“There is really market for vegetables and there is money in it,” he said.

He said that from June to December 2005 alone, they were able to produce 1.3 million metric tons of vegetables.

About 60 tons of their produce are being shipped weekly to Manila while six tons are supplied to Davao area, he said.

He said that when they transport their produce to Zamboanga then to Sandakan, Malaysia it would only take them 27 hours which is a shorter route than the one in Manila.

Sarraga meanwhile said that despite the cold chain, they also experience wastage but on a smaller volume.

He said three years ago they could only achieve recovery of production at about 40 percent compared to the current new technology with recovery production of 85 to 90 percent.

He however said that corrections must be made in the system inorder to come up with only one scheme for the island of Mindanao.

Meanwhile, Roger Gualberto, president of the Vegetable Industry Council of Southern Mindanao, Inc. said they need to consolidate the vegetable producers of the island.

He admitted however that the traders are more organized than the producers and these traders are the once dictating the price of vegetables.

These traders even go up to the Kapatagan vegetable area in Digos, Davao del Sur to purchase the farmers produce directly based on their (trader’s) price.

He said there is also the need to consolidate the producers in order to get better price and share in the market.

The demand of vegetables in the local and global markets are also increasing and the producers have realized the need to shift from their traditional fragmented vegetable farm production system to highly competitive farm operations.

He said the clustering system is the most ideal approach in facilitating a market-driven produce.

“This will also lead to understanding basic customer requirements and preferences in terms of price, quality, service delivery and other competitive benefits”, he said.

Clustering strategy will be the focus in the coming 4th National Vegetable congress. The theme for this year is “Vegetable Cluster Farming: An Agribusiness for Domestic and Global Markets.

The congress will be held on April 26-28, 2006 at the Davao Convention and Trade Center where two important activities will happen, first, is the field tour at barangay Kapatagan in Digos City and in Salumay, Marilog District and in Manambulan, Tugbok all in Davao City. The other is the congress proper where it will carry three sessions and each session will present lectures to be handled by reliable industry experts.

There will also be sharing of best practices on vegetable production, post-harvest handling, cold chain technologies and marketing, clustering of farmers/farms to market competitiveness of small producers, and review of the vegetable industry strategic plans as well as strengthen private sector and government partnership in the development of a competitive Philippine vegetable industry.

Department of Agriculture Secretary Domingo Panganiban will be the guest speaker. (PIA/pdbanzon)

Food-for-school program gains ground in Region XII

COTABATO CITY (30 March) — Some five thousand six hundred sixty four (5, 664) school children in region XII continue to receive food assistance through the Food for School Program of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The objective of the Food for School Program is to provide food assistance to 400, 000 families in the country who suffer from severe hunger by the end of 2006, with the departments of education and social welfare and development (DepEd) and (DSWD) as lead implementing agencies.

Based on updated reports, rice distribution in day care centers in Region XII started in December 2005 targeted children from different public elementary schools in the towns of Pres. Quirino and Sen. Ninoy Aquino and another more than 1, 500 from the towns of Libungan and Aleosan are beneficiaries.

Food assistance is being complemented by support activities which include training on school/home food production, productivity, life and values development alongside with Parent Effectiveness and Home Care sessions and proper hygiene and concepts of health and nutrition.

As part of the hunger mitigation program of the government, the Department of Education, Region XII implements the Breakfast and School Milk Projects under its Supplemental Feeding Program.

According to DepED XII, a total of 2, 061 school children from public elementary schools in General Santos City, Kidapawan City and South Cotabato are beneficiaries of School Milk Program which involves 120 days continues milk feeding while beneficiaries of the Breakfast Program, consisting of iron fortified rice, noodles and biscuits are 1, 144 pupils of Sarangani Province. (pbc/PIA 12)

Islamic Society appeals for “more action”

By Rose B. Palacio

Davao City (30 March) — While the World Islamic Call Society (WICS) has been calling for concerned groups, agencies and government to “put things on the ground and in action”, the surge of interfaith dialogues, seminars and conferences are no longer concerned about the idea of the dialogue itself.

Rather it is the necessity of making seminars and interfaith dialogues “a ground force” and not a “paper lion”.

“What we need is a reality that commands action from each and every corner of the world in working for a real peace” said Engr. Gamal Ahmed, WICS permanent representative in his speech during the “A forum on Women – Peace – Mindanao” held at St. Charles Borromeo Spirituality Center, Matina Aplaya, Davao city (March 27) hosted by WICS and the Mother Francesca Commission, a congregation of Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena).

Together with Engr. Ahmed who deliver their messages were: Libyan Ambassador Dr. Salem Adam; National Security Adviser secretary Norberto Gonzales; Sr. Ma. Jesusa Enginco, O.P. Chair, Mother Francisca Commission; Bai Putri Norhata alonto, former Commissioner PCUP and presidential assistant for Muslim Affairs; Sr. Virginia Balayon, O.P., Directress of Notre Dame of General Santos City; Sr. Estelita Carbon, O.P. Regional Superior of Mindanao; Dr. Helen Mogan; and Rosemarie Enginco, DTI-XI Chief, Trade and Industry Dev’t Specialist and Reg’l Gender and Dev’t focal person.

Carrying the objective “to identify women’s role in the solution of peace problem in Mindanao”, Engr. Ahmed emphasized that activities should be put on the ground and must be accomplished to attain real peace for Mindanao.

He said that everybody has the right to speak about his or her religion and must be done without any restraint from outside because “God created mankind to live harmoniously and with unity.

Engr. Ahmed cited instances that because of extreme materialism, we witness how peace has been destroyed, people being victimized even as he called for a “unity despite our individual differences.”

Together, we have to put things on the ground and help build peace and understanding, learn from each other, understand our own culture, differences in religion or traditions and constant communication.

“The Muslim community is ready to talk and deliberate things to help government attain a truly peaceful atmosphere for Mindanao island”, he said. (PIA)

4 US troopers donate rare blood type to save sick girl

FOUR US soldiers stationed in Zamboanga City donated blood Tuesday to help save the life of a three-year old Filipino girl, who is suffering from anemia, her family and doctors said.

The girl, Donneth Silo, has been confined at the Zamboanga Medical Center (ZMC) here after her family rushed her to Zamboanga City early this month from their hometown in Baliguian in Zamboanga del Norte province after local doctors diagnosed her as suffering respiratory distress.

Her family said the girl is also suffering from typhoid fever and pneumonia and that she badly needed the rare blood type RH negative. The girl is also coughing a lot and is feverish the past three weeks, they said.

SunStar Zamboanga

Bombing aboard Davao bound bus

This morning at around 11AM, a Weena Express bus travelling from Digos, Davao del Sur to Davao City was hit with a bomb during it’s transit.  Several people were injured aboard the bus, mostly from flying glass.

Currently, police are speculating that a homemade bomb was placed in one of the rear luggage compartments.