In line with the Farmers and Fisheries Month, the City Agriculturist Office (CagrO) will conduct a series of learning sessions for targeted stakeholders, and wholesale and retail activities during the Fruits and Vegetables Trade Fair at the Davao Food Terminal Complex (DFTC) inToril from May 13-17, 2024.
“The trade fair will showcase the produce of farmers, especially vegetables and fruits. We will have a five-day long activity, as well as trading for wholesale and retail,” Josephine Martin, DFTC focal person, said
Martin said that on May 13, they will conduct a Durian Coded Farm Stakeholders Meeting, which will be participated in by durian farmers who seek to export their product.
On May 14, the Packaging and Labeling of Fruits and Vegetables Seminar will also be conducted with speakers from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
She added that the participants of the training will be given the chance to learn more about the upgraded facility at the DFTC, which is used for labeling and packaging of products.
Meanwhile, on May 15, an Agribusiness Forum will be held and buyers and sellers of fruit and vegetables are invited. Hotels, restaurants, and supermarkets that are potential buyers of agricultural products are also invited to the forum.
On May 16 there will also be a Food Safety Seminar by DOST.
On the fifth and last day, women’s organizations trained to utilize excess fruits will give inputs during the Fruit and Vegetable Processing Demonstration.
Martin said that these activities are also conducted to promote the DFTC as an area for trade.
She mentioned that the DFTC is not yet fully operational as they are still working on some requests from the stockholders.
“We are doing our best to make it fully functional. We are already providing service to Davao City farmers by tying them up with the market,” Martin said, adding that farmers seek help from the DFTC to coordinate with buyers. The latter arranges meetings between farmers and buyers.
Martin said that hauling services to cut transportation costs continue to benefit farmers located in far-flung areas.
She said that with the location of the DFTC away from common trading areas, and the existence of common areas of trade other than DFTC, they intend to promote more of the lucrative services offered only at DFTC.
Martin said that they are only waiting for the license to operate the eight cold storage facilities and also the approved rates for the machinery funded by the DOST. CIO
