Philippines mangoes ripe to compete anew in global market - DA

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) is seeking innovations to keep local mangoes in excellent condition and allow the country to compete once again in the global market.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol invited inventors and fabricators to come up with a special implement that would make mango bagging easier and more efficient.

Mangoes, while waiting to be harvested, are bagged individually to protect them from diseases and mechanical injuries.

DA’s proposal includes mango stick, which will be an automatic tool that will bag maturing mangoes to protect them from insects and other pests.

This is seen to improve the quality of the product and will allow  the growers to demand a  competitive price for their produce.

In line with quality control, Piñol proposed the fabrication of a special paper that will be used as wrapping material.

“Growers are very particular with the quality of paper that they use so this is the challenge for Filipino scientists and inventors,” he said.

Philippine Center for Postharvest Research and Mechanization (PhilMech), in partnership with Guimaras mango growers, is developing a bagging material made of cassava starch.

PhilMech’s bio-process engineering division is currently working on the special paper that will naturally peel off once the fruits are ready to be harvested.

“We should also come up with a rotating platform that will ascend and descend around the mango trees to make bagging and harvesting easier and faster. We need to make our agriculture sector more technologically-advanced,” Piñol said.

The Philippine mango is tagged as the sweetest in the world. The industry, however, is facing challenges which the DA vows to address.

“The DA has committed to undertake interventions to prevent the infestation of cecid fly, particularly in the island-province of Guimaras,” Piñol said.

DA intends to provide all farm inputs, while the local mango growers serve as the labor force.

“Everyone must participate to ensure success. If only a small group will join, it will fail. If successful, we will duplicate this holistic approach in Palawan,” he said.

The DA is hosting the Mango Festival until next week to feature the different mango-growing areas of the country, create awareness of its potential and create domestic and international markets.