The Durian Industry Association of Davao City partnered with the Davao City Agriculturist’s Office (CAgrO) and the Department of Agriculture, to launch a National Durian Industry Summit anchored on the goal of elevating the Davao durian industry in the global market.
Davao durian farmers are urged to join the two-day summit starting October 23 at the Grand Menseng Hotel to gain new insights on durian quality improvement and better farming practices.
Fe Oguio, CAgrO’s Durian and Cacao Focal Person, said during the ISpeak Media Forum that the summit aims to address the constraints on how to improve the quality of durian in the city.
She said that although the durian that the city’s farmers produce are of good quality, these are yet to reach quality A and B.
“That’s why we anchor this activity’s focus on the quality parameters nga mao gyud ang tagaan nato og importance kay sa akoang naistorya ang atoang durian industry is very young (As I’ve said, our durian industry is very young which is why we anchored this activity to focus on the importance of the quality parameters),” Oguio said.
The summit will serve as an avenue for all value chain actors of the city’s durian industry to gather and discuss salient issues and concerns that will be beneficial for the development of the city’s durian industry.
The speakers invited for the summit’s plenary session are experts from Malaysia and Thailand, two of the leading durian exporters in the world. They will discuss the quality concerns of durian farmers as well as the opportunities for the durian industry in the country.
Oguio added that through the speakers, farmers and other key players in the durian industry will gain new knowledge on how they can emulate the good agricultural practices of these durian market giants.
“One of the speakers will also be incorporating na ang ilahang practices on using smart agriculture in their farming (One of the speakers will also discuss how they incorporated smart agriculture in their farming practices),” she said.
Speakers from the Philippine Quality Services who are experts in the export market will also be present during the summit.
The Bureau of Plant Industry will also discuss issues on plant maturity and diseases as well as quality control.
Other than the plenary sessions, an exhibit will also be mounted at the lobby of the venue.
Oguio said companies using smart agriculture will be introduced in the exhibit to slowly incorporate smart agriculture in the country’s farming practices.
Financial institutions will also be present to link durian industry players with financial providers. CIO
