The City Agriculturalist’s Office said it is planning to hold bigger events than the one held during the Kadayawan festival to showcase products of local farmers and processors.
The Kadayawan exhibit showcased the city’s chocolate and other cacao products, organic vegetables, fruits, as well other produce such as organic chicken, eggs, and bangus.
CAGRO head Edgardo Haspe said the Kadayawan exhibit “was generally successful,” as 10 participating groups of farmers and processed product producers earned about P244,127 from August 15 to 21.
Haspe said over two tons of fruits— durian, marang, pomelo, dragon fruit and avocado— were displayed, a total of 1.5 tons of which were sold. The exhibit also sold off 400 kilograms of the total 500 kg of vegetables, 100 kg of bangus and 45 kg of chicken were also sold.
Haspe said there could have been more produce exhibited as there were more farmers willing to participate in the exhibit, but were not accommodated due to the lack of space in the venue. This is why future exhibits will be expanded to include more farmers and processed products manufacturers.
Exhibits and agri-tourism are very important, said Haspe, as these open the doors for the city’s farmers and processors to future markets both local and foreign.
“Kung naay mga future markets, with the aid of the exhibit, makita nila na pwede diay na nila dalaon sa ilang lugar, so ilang imbitahon ang atong mga local producers, (If there are future markets, with the aid of the exhibit, they [tourists] can see that they can bring these products home, so they will invite our local producers),” Haspe said.
“We are pushing for more exhibits in more areas the likes of supermarkets, malls so we can showcase our globally-competitive produce and products in the city,” he added.
The CAGRO is preparing for the upcoming organic produce exhibit in November, with a number of participants already signed up.
Aside from local exhibits, the CAGRO is also pushing to increase the visibility of the city’s produce by creating direct links to international markets. An example of this is the office’s effort to penetrate the Chinese durian market.
Haspe said that Chinese durian players have finished assessing the quality of the city’s durian produce last week, bringing Davao City’s durian a step closer to becoming a global product.
