THIS week saw many activities in the country’s Summer Capital that only prove it can sustain its identity not only as a prime tourism and educational destination, but as a convention center of the north.
And one major convention held here is the 11th National Vegetable Congress with the theme, "Time of Sharing towards Global Market Competitiveness."
Why consider this as a major event? Well, for starters, the Cordillera Administrative Region at present supplies 80 percent of the temperate high value crops and vegetables in the country.
The supply and demand situation notes with the 90 plus million population of the country, the vegetable industry with Benguet as the driving force in terms of economic development, has proven to be a major source of income in our part of the country.
Comparing to Davao's 1 million and Cebu's 5 million demand level, Metro Manila stands at 12 million with 80percent of its supply demand coming from the Cordillera.
With this at hand, the Agriculture Department through this 11th Vegetable Congress by the vegetable industry stakeholders is tasked to create its road map with the objective of having to know the current industry situation, creating a unified understanding of the industries situation, indicate the basic directions stakeholder should take to move forward, and create possible strategic plans of action to attain sustainable development.
The creation of the vegetable road map will help the industry prepare for the application of Asean Free Trade Agreements or AFTA by putting to preference the importance of an increasing population and demand, increase awareness on nutritional benefits of vegetables, emergence of institutional markets, value adding technologies for processing, and the local knowledge that will enable the stakeholders to manage trading facilities.
The vegetable roadmap, once developed, will be prepared to face the imminent problem on vegetable smuggling and the globalization of trade, allowing the proliferation of imported vegetables, aside from increasing prices of farm inputs and production costs.
Overall, the vegetable produce in the Cordillera remains the best in terms of quality due to its suitable weather for planting and harvesting, aside from the accessibility to major markets, the availability of improved technologies, and the abundance of local expertise.
Cordillera and the country therefore have a brighter future in the vegetable industry in the face global trading and competitiveness.
Benguet's father, Gov. Nestor Fongwan, and the stakeholders of the vegetable industry of the province will have a lot of studying, packaging and marketing to do to prepare them for the global trading.
As the saying goes, "All for one and one for all.” Adivay, Benguet!