THE province of Misamis Oriental is aiming to become the coconut capital in the country, Governor Yevgeny Vincente Emano announced during the launching of the first ‘Kuyamis’ festival at the capitol grounds Wednesday.
In his speech, Emano said the province has a huge potential to become the number one source of different products made out of coconut which are abundant in the province’s two cities and 24 municipalities.
Emano said there are almost 10 million existing coconut trees planted by around 36,920 farmers all over the province and promoting them is the most viable option.
He said coco farmers will be equipped with upgraded technology and proper livelihood trainings in order to produce high-quality products from the coconut.
“With the birth of the Kuyamis festival which will now become a yearly event, (this) would surely strengthen the product development in support of the agri-tourism thrust and other sectors in the future,” Emano said.
Meanwhile, Senator Cynthia Villar, the festival launching’s guest of honor, assured her full support to Emano's project.
Being the committee chair on agriculture and food in the Senate, Villar vowed to give her 100 percent support in the growth of the coco industry of the province to become the leading coconut industry in the country in the future.
Part of Villar’s support is to provide coconut seedlings, upgraded equipment and technical know-how to the farmers.
Since the pork barrel fund had been recently abolished, Villar said she will coordinate with the Department of Agriculture and the province for the formulation, drafting, management and implementation of the program relevant to manufacturing, production, distribution, preparation, handling, storage and verification of approved food, non-food merchandise and services.
For his part, Emano said that he wanted to put an identity for Misamis Oriental.
“If Camiguin has the Lanzones Festival and Davao City has its own Kadayawan Festival, today Misamis Oriental will be known for its Kuyamis Festival,” he said.
In an article published Tuesday in the Philippine Information Agency website, provincial tourism officer Robert Maestre said ‘kuyamis’ is the original name of Misamis.
However, it is also a variety of sweet coconut found in the province and described it as a Golden Malayan Dwarf Coconut Tree of the Cocus Nusifera family.
He added that aside from branding the activity Kuyamis, the provincial government intends to develop the coconut industry since according to the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) statistics, Misamis Oriental is the 5th major producer of coconut in the country.
The said festival which kicked off January 8 to January 10, 2014 has lined up various activities, including business bazaar, product display and live bands.
As an added activity, provincial information officer Christine Cabiasa said the province’s two districts extended their full support for the activity as each municipality from Lugait up to Magsaysay prepared different presentation.
“This event will mark the history of Misamis Oriental and everyone is invited to witness the Kuyamis Festival that will run until Friday, January 10,” Cabiasa said.