Hope remains high for declining mango industry

FILE: Department of agriculture logo from Wikipedia

DAVAO CITY, Aug. 4— Mango growers in Mindanao still see hope to recover from the declining industry with the government’s commitment to provide needed support to farmers.

Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Emmanuel Piñol even expressed optimism to the revitalization of the country’s declining mango production through technology application, financing, and marketing.

He noted that the production of the Philippine mango has plummeted from over 1.5-million metric tons in previous years to only a little over 800,000-metric tons last year.

Based on the data of Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), the decrease in the production of mango from 2006 to 2016 was noted. From 5.35 metric tons per hectare yield in 2006, mango production dropped to 4.33 metric tons per hectare yield in 2016.

There is also a slight increase in the number of hectares planted to mango in the country during the same period – from 171,710 hectares in 2006 to 187,839 hectares in 2016.

He stressed that while price of mango is fluctuating, improved productivity and increased in yield could still boost farmers income.

“I want to address this problem because we have taken for granted the God-given gift which is the Philippine mango,” said Piñol, who met with mango farmers to personally know what support the DA.

Piñol stressed, “You talk to anybody and they will tell you that the best mango in the world is the Philippine mango.

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The secretary also proposed to identify a model farm in every province which would serve as a learning center for modern farming techniques.

The DA with the support of the farmers will craft a five-year roadmap for the Philippine Mango Development that will quickly address the needs of the industry and make the growth more inclusive for small farmers to benefit.