Vegetable industry leaders
form Mindanao-wide council

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—Leaders of various vegetable growers’ associations in the region have created a Mindanao-wide council to serve as an advocacy and networking umbrella group for the local vegetable sector.

This was announced at the 1st Mindanao Veggie Expo held here earlier this month, organized by the Northern Mindanao Vegetable Industry Council (NorMinVeggies), USAID’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program, the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the provincial government of Misamis Oriental.

The new organization, the Southern Philippines Vegetable Council, will initially focus on updating the Mindanao Vegetable Roadmap, which provides strategic directions for the industry.

It will also help organize upcoming major events: the Mindanao Vegetable Congress scheduled to be held in Koronadal, South Cotabato, this October, and the National Vegetable Congress in General Santos City in the first quarter of 2009.

Mar Remotigue of Cagayan de Oro-based NorMinVeggies was elected interim president of the new umbrella organization. Jovic Santos of the Central Mindanao Vegetable Council is interim vice president.

The new Council will work on strengthening the various provincial and subregional vegetable producer associations, said Remotigue.

"Its creation is timely in the light of current industry concerns, such as the rising costs of production inputs and shipping," he added.

"The Council will enable members of the Mindanao vegetable industry to speak with one voice," said NorMinVeggies vegetable coordinator Leo Eduria.

The Expo was attended by vegetable farmers, traders, service and agricultural inputs providers from across the region, as well as representatives of local government units and national government line agencies.

Another Expo highlight was the signing of a memorandum of agreement under which the PhilAm Foundation will assist NorMinVeggies’ planned expansion of its vegetable consolidation and marketing activities for smallhold growers.

The association linked up with PhilAm Foundation through the GEM Program, which in partnership with NorMinVeggies and the DA has helped introduce best production practices among the association’s farmer-members and other Mindanao growers to enhance their competitiveness.

The new project with PhilAm is designed to help improve the existing vegetable trading system in the region and benefit small-holder growers, said Max Ventura, the foundation’s executive director.

Should this pilot initiative prove successful, it will be replicated by the foundation in other parts of Mindanao, to help strengthen economic development and peace-building in the region, Ventura said.