Festival showcases Cebu City as major cut flower producer

Barangay Taptap bested 11 other barangays in the flower float parade of Cebu City’s 4th Flower Festival yesterday.

The flower festival has been staged by the City Agriculture Office to encourage cut flower growing in the city and cements Cebu City’s place as a major producer in the country.

The flower float stage contest held in Fuente Osmeña was participated by 11 mountain barangays.

It began at 7 a.m and was followed by a parade of floats from Fuente Osmeña to Plaza sa Sugbo at 8:30 a.m.

Cebu’s flower growing barangays Adlaon, Budlaan, Bonbon, Sirao, Malubog, Sudlon 2, Guba, Pung-ol Sibugay, Babag, Taptap and Buot-Taup showcased their colorful agriculture products.

At the end, the flower float of barangay Taptap won he approval of the judges. They went home with P30,000 cash prize.

Barangay Malubog took second place while barangay Pung-ol Sibugay got third place.

Aside from the flower float parade, a series of activities were also lined-up for the whole day in Plaza sa Sugbo where different barangays competed in showcasing their high value products.

The event is aimed at making Cebu city known as the biggest producers of cut flowers, said Apple Layon, the officer-in-charge of the Cebu City Agriculture Department.

Barangay Sudlon II won the best flower booth category, bagging home P20,000.

Barangay Sirao and Pung-ol Sibugay were second and third placers respectively.

According to Apple Layon, acting city agriculturist, cut flowers is one of the major agriculture products of the city.

Flowers grown in the city reach the Bacolod and Ilo-ilo markets, Alayon said.

Layon said a substantial portion of the proposed P40 million budget of the City Agriculture Office for 2013 would go to promoting cut flowers, a high value agriculture product.

She was very happy with the support that cut flow growing is receiving from the upland barangays of the city.

The upcoming All Saints and All Souls Day, she said, will increase demand for flowers.

Based on a study of the Department of Horticultue of the University of the Philippines at Los Baños, Cebu is a mjor producer of roses, orchids, chrysanthemum, gerbera and gladiolos in the Visayas.