Following the reported oversupply of mangoes, a lawmaker on Thursday vowed to push for enactment of the proposed Philippine Mango Development Act in the 18th Congress.
AAMBIS-OWA Party-list Rep. Sharon Garin of said she filed House Bill 3538 or the Philippine Mango Development Act, which, she said, the House Committee on Agriculture failed to approve.
Earlier, the Department of Agriculture said the Philippines has an excess supply of 2 million kilograms of mangoes.
Moreover, Garin said passage of the bill will help more farmers to learn to add more value to their crop.
She also remains optimistic that the bill will see the light of day in the 18th Congress, which will open on July 22.
“The goal of the [Philippine] Mango Development Act is to revitalize the Philippine Mango industry and protect the welfare of our local mango growers. Should it be signed into law, production support will be extended to our mango growers. This includes access to postharvest, storage and distribution/transport facilities,” Garin said in a news statement.
The bill seeks to refresh and bolster the competitiveness of the Philippine mango through decreased postharvest losses, modernized techniques and technologies, and international marketing strategies.
The bill also highlights the formulation of the five-year Philippine Mango Framework for Development that will serve as a guide to the formulation and implementation of plans, programs and projects for the production, marketing processing and distribution of Philippine mango for food and commercial needs.
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