Committed to help the mango industry in Mindanao, the government of New Zealand has extended economic aid worth 2.4 million NZ dollars (P79.17 million) as for the training of mango sprayers and growers in Mindanao.
Honorary Consul of NZ in Mindanao Vicente Lao said the New Zealand government committed to help the mango industry by putting in place protocols for the spraying and the development of good agricultural practices so that mangoes from Mindanao can again penetrate the Japanese and Chinese markets as well as other European markets.
“Protocols such as we need to spray properly, what kind of chemicals that you can spray and when to stop spraying so that when you have this thing wala ng kemikal. Dapat sundin yan,” Lao said.
Although no other countries can produce better-tasting mangoes, Lao said it is important to follow quality protocols as the loose local regulation could yield substandard fruits.
Hence, Lao said there is a need to regulate the sprayers by either accrediting or certifying them so that those that are properly trained will be the one who will be spraying.
“Kasi if you will be able to export then you will be able to get very good prices for your mango like the domestic market is only P50 per kilo when you export you can command the price from P300 to P400 per kilo,” he said.
He also said good spraying practices will also help provide better revenues for the growers and farmers.
“Ngayon kasi murang mura kaya wala din masyadong income ang ating mga farmers. We hope we will be able to help the farmers raise the price. Also the common hatian (sharing) is 70/30 wherein 70 goes to the sprayer and 30 goes to the owner,” Lao explained.
According to Lao, mango is one of the products that the Philippines can still be top producer but emphasized that there is a need to change the practices.
