Green Mindanao Project! MinDA Organizes Farmers, Buyers Of Abuyog Jackfruit, Hass Avocado

The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) advocacy to protect environment while increasing productivity and reducing poverty will take a giant step next week with the staging of a virtual convention to build the Mindanao Abuyog Sweet Jackfruit and Hass Avocado industries.

The Virtual Convention set on May 8, Saturday, will involve Plant Propagators, Farmers, Buyers, Funders and relevant agencies of government, including the National Commission on the Indigenous People which supervises wide Ancestral Domain Areas.

MinDA Asst. Secretary Cherrylyn Santos Akbar, former mayor of Isabela City, Basilan, will head the team which will establish the Mindanao Avocado and Jackfruit Organizing Council.

Among the identified participants are:

1. Mindanao Development Authority – Lead Convenor;

2. Department of Agriculture, Mindanao Regional Offices;

3. Bureau of Plant Industry, Mindanao Regional Offices;

4. Department of Trade and Industry, Mindanao Regional Offices;

5. Department of Science and Technology, Mindanao Regional Offices;

6. National Commission on the Indigenous People;

7. Department of Environment and Natural Resources;

8. Government Financing Institutions (Land Bank & Development Bank of the Philippines; Agricultural Credit Policy Council through Credit Cooperatives);

9. Cooperative Development Authority (CDA);

10. Registered Plant Propagators and Plant Nursery Operators;

11. Registered Farmers’ Cooperatives;

12. Prospective Consolidators and Buyers (i.e. Dole Philippines, Avante Agri Products, Dizon Farms, Eng Seng, Ultramart Supermarket, etc.)

The Virtual Convention aims to organize the stakeholders of both the Abuyog Jackfruit and Hass Avocado Industries into a cohesive group which would set production targets based on the absorptive capacity of the market.

They will be assisted by concerned government agencies in attaining the target by providing technical and funding support, including post-harvest facilities.

The prospective consolidators and buyers will provide assurance of market absorption while the GFIs will provide funding for the program with loan maturity based on the gestation period of both products.

This program supports the Green Mindanao Project which promotes the planting of trees in the deforested and denuded highlands of Mindanao while boosting the economic growth of the region.

Prior to the May 8 Virtual Convention, a preliminary conference involving government agencies, GFIs and prospective buyers will be held.

#KungGustoMaramingParaan!

#GovernanceIsCommonSense!

(Photos by Mayette Tudlas, MinDA OC)