The Philippine Mango Industry Foundation Inc. (PMIFI) has set aside P10 million to help boost mango production in the country.
The P10 million would be divided among the 24 mango growers organizations in the country, said Vergie de la Fuente, PMIFI president yesterday.
De la Fuente said the Central Visayas region would get at least P500,000 for the rehabilitation of these fruit trees.
The PMIFI is an organization made up of mango growers and mango exporters in the country.
The group aims to boost the 788 million kilos a year mango production, which is way below the 2007 production of 1 billion kilos of mangoes a year.
Mango farmers would be given fertilizers and mango flower inducers to increase their mango production.
The organization also plans to implement a mango tourism program in the Cebu.
They are planning to put up cable cars and ziplines to attract tourists and investors to these mango plantations, said De la Fuente.
“Increase in the mango tourism would increase the domestic prices,” she said.
The PMIFI is also encouraging mango growers and farmers to practice organic farming.
De la Fuente said that the organization was making this call despite the short-term solution of fertilizers and flower inducers the organization would be giving out.
She said that the group was taking particular attention in Cebu because it’s one of the top 20 mango producers in the country, the first being Pangasinan.
She said that the group was targeting small farmers especially those in the mountain barangays to take part in the program.
The Cebu provincial government is also helping by giving the farmers life and health insurance because their work is considered a high-risk occupation.
Aside from mangoes, the program also aims to develop high value crops in the region including vegetables such as yellow and red onions, garlic, and the development of cacao and coffee production.
De la Fuente is also calling on mango stakeholders and farmers to join the 14th National Mango Congress at the J Centre Mall in Mandaue City from Nov. 14 to 16.
The Congress carries the theme “Enhancing the Country’s Economic Growth through Efficient Production and Increased Investment in Mango-Tourism.”