Sen. Cynthia Villar assured that she will continue to assist the local mango industry which produces the best-tasting mangoes in the world.
Villar, Speaking during the AANI Mango Industry Association Inc.’s two-day 19th National Mango Festival which started May 19, guaranteed that she will push for the industry’s development and promotion.
She currently chairs the Senate Agriculture and Food Committee.
The festival with the theme “Creating a Growth Strategies for the Mango Industry,” aims to promote the productivity, marketability, and viability of the country’s national fruit.
Villar acknowledged that the mango industry, which is composed of small farmers is not in organized plantation farms like the banana and pineapple industries.
The Philippines ranks tenth in mango production in the world, Villar said, adding that the country’s mango variety “Carabao,” known in the international market as “Manila Super Mango” is acclaimed as one of the best varieties globally.
“But the industry is faced with declining yield and quality attributed to pests and diseases, poor nutrient and water management, low adoption of improved technologies, and high postharvest losses,” Villar said.
She said that other industry problems include difficulty in farm operations and high cost of production due to inefficient pesticide application.
“It is important that mango owners have a good grasp of orchard management such that the mango tree produces good fruits with proper pruning, fertilizer and sprayed, to avoid pests and diseases, and irrigated,” she further stated.
By adopting good agricultural practices, Villar said that farmers can produce higher yields of good quality fruits at a lower costs.
“Now I heard that the biggest problem is the management of mango twig borer (MTB) and cecid fly or “kurikong,” two of the most serious insect pests of mango,” Villar said.
However, she’s optimistic that the support of the government through the High Value Crops Development Program of the DA can help farmers have very good and workable solutions to their problems.
According to Villar, mango is important in the Philippines because it is the second largest most used fruit (28.2%) after banana (29.4%) in the world.
