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Sunday, July 30, 2006
Agri exec vows to strengthen banana sector support mechanism
AGRICULTURE Secretary Domingo F. Panganiban last week pledged to strengthen government's support mechanism for the banana industry to sustain its global competitiveness.
Speaking at the 2nd National Banana Marketing Conference held at the Grand Men Seng Hotel in Davao City, Panganiban assured stakeholders for Department of Agriculture's continuing support to provide the needed technical, marketing and logistics to further improve the banana industry.
Panganiban said that the country's banana industry has contributed a big share to the Philippine economy. In 2005 alone, banana production totaled 6.3 million metric ton (MT), from a total area of 418,000 hectares and valued at P 43.5 billion at current prices.
Southern Mindanao or the Davao Region has dominated the industry in terms of productivity and value because of the several banana plantations in the area, Panganiban said.
According to Panganiban, Mindanao is one of the top priorities for agribusiness investments. In President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's State of the Nation Address (Sona), the President had mentioned that investment priorities should mirror those for North Luzon because Mindanao has the poorest regions and poorest provinces.
With this, its time to renew our partnerships to ensure that agribusiness investments continue to pour into Mindanao, particularly in the banana industry, Panganiban said.
Last year alone, with a combined area of 68,400 hectares comprising 16 percent of national hectarage, Davao region has produced 2.67 million MT or 42 percent of our total national output, valued at P 20.5 billion.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (July 30, 2006 issue)
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