THE fruit industry in the region is expecting a lower supply of fruit this year due to the impact of El Niño, which causes high mortality of fruit trees, particularly durian.
With this, the Department of Agriculture-High Value Crops Program (DA-HVCDP) has outlined its rehabilitation program to help durian growers overcome the effects of this year’s long dry spell.
DA Assistant Director Maria Febe Orbe said at least P2 million will be allocated by the DA-HVCDP to rehabilitate durian plantations in the region.
“These will include immediate interventions—such as procurement and distribution of durian seedlings, especially desired varieties, to sustain the local industry,” Orbe said in her message during the opening of the fourth durian festival held on Friday at SM Lanang Premiere in Davao City.
DA-HVCDP Regional Coordinator Melani Provido said reports from agri technicians and farmers revealed around 50,000 trees died and some were badly hit, which need replanting and or rehabilitation, in major producing areas in the city, such as Tugbok, Calinan, and Toril district.
Meanwhile, Davao City Councilor Marissa Abella said a committee hearing on the rehabilitation plan for El Niño-affected areas in the city will be conducted Monday next week.
“We will ensure that our durian farmers will not be left behind in the rehab plan. Davao City is known as durian capital and [the fruit] is part of being Dabawenyos. We cannot allow any phenomenon like El Niño to severely affect production, especially that there is a growing demand for durian abroad,” Abella said.
Abella, who chairs the city council’s agriculture committee, she is looking into requiring nursery operators to secure an accreditation first before they will be issued a business permit.
“This is to ensure that the seedlings they will sell conform to quality standards set by the DA-Bureau of Plant Industry,” she said.
Davao industry Durian Council Chairman Larry Miculob said Davao City supplies 80 percent of the entire volume of durian production in the country.
Miculob added that Davao durian is fast gaining prominence in the international market, as Australia and Russia have signified their interest to import frozen durian fruits. Last year Macula has started to export durian in China.
The durian festival will run from August 5 to September 4 as part of the Kadayawan festivities. Since it was launched in 2013, the Kadayawan Durian Festival has become one of the “must-visit” events every
Kadayawan season.
“With national interest now fixated on Davao, we want to take advantage of this perfect time to boost awareness on and appreciation for our beautiful city, including our most celebrated fruit, the durian,” said SM Mall Manager Therese Manalo.
“We hope that this event will continue to raise consumer awareness and patronage of durian not only in the local scene, but in the national and international scenes, as well,” she added.
Image credits: Noel T. Provido