Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Media tour to banana plantations
By Jojie Alcantara
A WHOLE day familiarization tour on plantation operations and cultural practices were conducted for the Davao tri-media by the Pilipino Banana Growers & Exporters Association, Inc. (PBGEA) and the Banana Export Industry Foundation, Inc. (BEIF).
It was an early morning journey from the city to Lapanday Agricultural & Development Corp (LADC) in Mandug, where the first phase of the tour began. The invited media was given a brief orientation on the procedures of aerial spraying operations, starting from the mixing area, solution content, loading area, water recycling and witnessing the actual spraying over the plantation.
A more impressive view of the whole banana field could be viewed from a rest house on a higher elevation.
Breakfast was served inside the Lapanday Skills Training Center (LSTC) Audio Visual Room, followed by presentations of key resource persons like Noel Venus (An overview of the Philippine Banana Industry), Dr. Anacleto Pedrosa (Technical Inputs to Aerial Spray Operation), and an open forum where the media and the speakers tackled issues from aerial spraying to setting facts straight about its effects and providing counter solutions.
The media was then treated to a short farm demo to witness the thorough operations of cleansing, discarding of spoils, and packaging of the finished product.
Vans awaited them for an hour's trip to Davao Fruits Corporation (AJMR) in Tamayong, Calinan where they had lunch overlooking the growers' plantation area, culminating with an interaction with the growers.
The trip lasted until early afternoon, to which a sumptuous treat of assorted sweet fruits, were served, and boxes of durian were consumed as a finale.
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For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (September 26, 2006 issue)
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