Mindano fruit board to discuss problems in DATE 2011DAVAO CITY, Sept. 21 (PNA) - Ways to boost income and productivity will highlight the upcoming Mindanao Fruit and Vegetable Summit next month that will mark the 13th Davao Trade Expo (DATE) here slated on October 20-22.Mindanao Fruit Council president Atty. Antonio Partoza said the summit will feature a face-to-face encounter between buyers and growers to boost marketing and rid the perennial problem on middlemen who eat up on the meager income of farmers.“For the past four to five years, we are inviting processors, buyers, and farmers in major events basically for the purpose to meet each other personally and negotiate/discuss by themselves in relation to prices, to avoid the entry of middlemen,” Partoza said.Larry Miculob, of the council's board of trustees, has cited serious problem in the productivity of the fruit industry in the country triggered by such factors as high cost of inputs, land reform, inadequate support to boost production and lack of technology.He cited that Thailand is producing 10 tons of durian per hectare, while the Philippines productivity at less than two tons per hectare.He said farmers raising other fruits/crops need more support from government such as the bigger budgetary support provided to the banana and pineapple growers by the Department of Agriculture (DA).He said farmers need important data on weather, effects of climate change, the total number of hectares planted to fruits, potential areas for fruit farming, and the best suitable fruits for irrigable lands in Mindanao, he said.He said the small fruit growers need more support from government given the high cost of inputs. Bulk of the fruit growers in Mindanao belongs to the small sector at 80 percent, he said.To improve productivity, Miculob said the council has been advising fruit growers to focus on one crop and not go into multiple crop/fruit planting.“It they think durian is viable, than they should focus on the production of durian and not engage on planting other kinds of fruits,” he said. (PNA)LAP/LAM/JGQuiros/ldp

DATE 2011 features PPP for market support to Mindanao agri sectorDAVAO CITY, Sept. 9 (PNA) – This year’s Davao Trade Expo (DATE 2011) focuses on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) as it gives importance to Mindanao's finest products and services and appropriate support to the agriculture sector.Initiated by the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (DCCCII), the exhibit will be held on October 20 to 22 at the Central Bank Convention Center in collaboration with the Davao City government; the regional offices of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Agriculture (DA) and Department of Science and Technology (DOST); Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Davao Light and Power Co. Inc., BusinessWorld, South Spot, Divine Advertising and Signs and Central Union Certification.DATE 2011 also partners with the Mindanao Fruit Industry Council (MINFRUIT) when it features the 2011 Mindanao Fruits and Vegetable Summit.The three-day summit is a global conference that will bring together key stakeholders to address challenges confronting the high value and commercial crops sector. It will also showcase variety of products, programs and ideas in a better and bigger perspective.The government and private sectors are also brought together to create partnership addressing different concerns and cultivating techniques and ideas.Dr. Maria Lourdes Monteverde, DCCCII president, said DATE 2011 serves as the ticket to Mindanao and it is expected to set records with more than 200 exhibitors, 7,000 trade investors and buyers and 1,000 summit delegates to attend the event.Monteverde said they expect to generate P150 million exhibitor's sales and P10 million potential project cost for business matching.The DATE this year will highlight Agri-Trade Exhibition, Fruit Cocktail-Networking Night, Seed Survivor and Fruit Fest Culinary Competition.She said the event will feature exhibitors from agri-trade and agri-industrial sectors together with their complementary industries, food (fresh, processed, packaging), machineries and equipment, post-harvest facilities, animal husbandry, agricultural chemicals, fertilizers and pest management, financing, ICT and logistics.DATE 2011 will bring together the world's agricultural experts, latest technological invention and ideas, updates on agricultural standards and best practices, prospects and network, as well as inventive opportunities that will contribute to a better and sustainable Mindanao, she added. (PNA)scs/Digna D. Banzon/ldp

Date 2011 highlights biz matching activity Friday, October 7, 2011 ORGANIZERS of this year's staging of the Davao Trade Expo (Date 2011) will open a business matching activity that aims to provide a venue for businessmen to meet the right customers and suppliers. The business matching event, dubbed as "Buyers-Sellers Exchange," will be launched as part of the 13th Davao Trade Expo celebration this month, initiated by the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. Themed "Sustainable Agriculture through a strong Public-Private Partnership," the event promises a favorable ground for entrepreneurs to encounter potential business partners for their respective enterprises. The business matching activity also to help potential buyers meet the top vendors and create trade relations that will enhance Filipino exporters’ competitiveness in global market. It will be a great business opportunity for them to meet outstanding suppliers and may engage their business lines in buying and sourcing Davao products that will meet an increased customers’ expectation. Interested participants can arrange appointments from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on October 20- 22. The said activity, to be held at Kadayawan Hall of NCCC Mall, is at its best initiated to make the right connections and establish quality sales lead across Davao Region. (PR) Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on October 07, 2011.  

  05 October 2011   Do it Yourself Farmland Development to be Featured in the Davao Trade Expo   The Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) will be spearheading the 13th Davao Trade Expo this October 20-22 at the NCCC Kadayawan Hall. With its theme, “Sustainable Agriculture through a Strong Public-Private Partnership” DATE 2011 is set to further improve Davao’s agriculture sector. It will do this by showcasing agricultural innovations and initiatives meant to encourage investment and improvement in agriculture. Idle land is a potential form of income generation, a fact that many landowners fail to take advantage of. Most people are actually aware of the possible income that a patch of land could produce, but a number of them would opt not to utilize their idle land. It is usually due to lack of willingness to do so. In order to help address this, DATE 2011 will be featuring the Do it Yourself Farmland Development, a one stop consultancy shop for would be agriculturists.    The Do it Yourself Farmland Development will take the form of a booth where a landowner can get everything necessary to turn an unused patch of earth to an income generating swath of vegetables and fruit.  Experts on soil-analysis, high value crops, clustering, financing and agricultural insurance will be there to give interested landowners a good shot for a sustainable source of income. It will also be joined by an expert on urban container gardening, for people who have limited spaces to work with but are interested in generating income from their land. This will definitely be a great avenue for landowners to make their idle property productive.

 PIA Press ReleaseTuesday, October 04, 2011 City agriculturist eyes farm investors to develop idle landsby Carina L. Cayon DAVAO CITY, Oct. 04 (PIA) -- The City Agriculturist here saw the upcoming agri-trade exposition event as an avenue to invite investors to develop idle agricultural lands in the city. City Agriculturist Leonardo Avila bared that more than 90,000 hectares or about 60 percent of the 163,000-hectare agricultural lands in the city are underutilized, however nothing that these are ready for use. The former City Councilor told the media during Monday’s Kapihan sa Dabaw that since he assumed office in June last year, around 72,000 hectares of the lands are productive. Avila considered the 2011 Davao Trade Expo (DATE) to be held at NCCC Mall in Davao City on October 20-22 as opportunity to look for investors to explore on improving idle lands by engaging them into Private-Public-Partnership undertaking. He revealed that many underutilized lands in the city have high potentials to become productive, citing more than 5,000 hectares are potential for rice production if irrigation systems are available. According to Avila , the areas in Barangays Gumitan and Suawan in Marilog District are available for rice farming, having about 1,000 hectares and 600 hectares, respectively. He said there are only 2,000 hectares of rice lands in Davao City . Avila said the biggest land area potential for the city is the agro-forestry with a vast area of 105,000 hectares. According to the Wikipedia, agroforestry is an integrated approach of using the interactive benefits from combining trees and shrubs with crops and/or livestock. The CAO head also considered crop areas that need to be developed such as banana, durian, other fruits and vegetables. Avila stressed the focus of this year’s DATE event on high valued crops such as fruits and vegetables, saying that said crops are the center of the urban gardening program that CAO is pushing towards the end of this year until the start of 2012. During the DATE activity, CAO will conduct a one-stop-shop “Do-it-Yourself Farm Land Development” where small-scale farmers and interested individuals with two to three-hectare farms lands will be taught of the basics of making their lands productive. (PIA-11/Carina L. Cayon)