DAR conducts dialogue with Task Force Mapalad in Bukidnon

By EDITHA R. SALVADOR
MALAYBALAY City––The Department of Agrarian Reform held a dialogue with Task Force Mapalad (TFM) and Bukidnon farmers on matters relative to land tenure improvement (LTI) and program beneficiaries development (PBD) on February 1, 2010 at the DAR-North Bukidnon provincial office.
Representing the DAR were Undersecretary for Support Services Rosalina I. Bistoyong, Assistant Secretary for Field Operations Dominador B. Andres, DAR-10 Regional Director Felix B. Aguhob, PARO Julio C. Celestiano of North Bukidnon and PARO Norberto R. Paquingan of South Bukidnon.
Key DAR Central Office staff also attended the dialogue.
PAROs Ana Castelo and Beth Lee from the Office of the Secretary and OIC-CARPO Catalina Austria from the Bureau of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Division took note of the issues that need the Central Office intervention.
DAR regional officials also provided support and they included Assistant Regional Directors Nicanor Peralta and Eddie Agac-ac, CARPO Shirley Arquiza of Support Services Division, CARPO Aquileo Pagara of Special Concerns Staff, Regional Quick Response Officer Apolinar Banaag, Regional Information Officer Editha Salvador and Teresita Silva from the Legal Division.
Also in attendance were DAR-Bukidnon provincial staff who included MAROs John Rasonabe, Alejandra Bahian, Florencio Garcia, OIC-CARPO Earl Declaro, Atty. Julian Bravante, Jr., and Provincial Quick Response Officers Cecilio Salem and Wenceslao Magallanes, among others.
Task Force Mapalad was represented by Atty. Rogelio Largo and Atty. Jan Rubiato. Some 500 farmers from different organizations in Bukidnon were also present.
The LTI group headed by Assistant Secretary Andres focused on the updates involving the status of 12 large landholdings in North Bukidnon and two landholdings in South Bukidnon that are the subject of interest of the farmer-petitioners.
Meanwhile, the PBD group headed by Under Secretary Bistoyong discussed the status of projects in the TFM-assisted areas.
The dialogue with TFM, the first after the passage of RA 9700 otherwise known as the CARPER law, ended with fresh hopes for the petitioners after the DAR officials pointed out the new provisions that may be applicable in their particular situations.

Aggie department sees rosy outlook for RP exports of fresh fruits
THE Department of Agriculture (DA) is bullish on prospects for Philippine fruit exports in 2010 and onwards amid the high growth forecasts for the banana, mango and pineapple subsectors plus the rising global demand, especially in Europe and the United States , for these tropical fruits.
In a recent forum, Mariz Agbon of the DA’s Philippine Agricultural Development and Commercial Corp (PADCC), said that the global demand prospects for fresh tropical fruits over the current decade as projected by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are expected to be favorable, “with the forecast compound growth rate at nearly 8% over the projections period for major tropical fruits.”
Agbon said global imports of fresh fruits are estimated to reach 4.3 million metric tons by 2010 with 87% or 3.8 million MT destined for markets for developed countries such as the US and those in the European Community (EC).
“The EC is expected to remain the world’s largest import market, followed by the United States , together accounting for 70% of import demand,” Agbon said.
FAO forecasts for the coming year show increased import volumes for the country’s four major tropical fruit exports—pineapple, mango, avocados, papaya—with the largest percentage increase forecast for mango at 9.7%.
Agbon said the US , EC, Japan, Canada and China (Hong Kong SAR) remain the largest import markets for fresh tropical fruit, with world trade continuing to be dominated by pineapples.
He said for banana, the industry is projected to sustain its growth in the coming years and could surpass the 2009 expected value at $828 million, boosted by competitive farming and shipping methods.
The production of banana chip and other products are expected to increase from 21,000 to 41,000 MT by 2010, with Japan and Saudi Arabia taking a significant volume of these exports.
On the other hand, Agbon said the demand for mango products has been increasing over time, brought about by increasing incomes and population preferences for healthy foods and freer flow of goods in the global market because of the reduction in trade barriers.
DA PRESS OFFICE
Mango imports from all over the world to the US are expected to grow nearly 7% on average to 450,000 tons by 2010.
He said that although France , the Netherlands and the United Kingdom will continue to be the primary import markets, Spain may emerge as a more important import market player in the future.
“Asia and the Pacific should continue to be the most significant region for world mango production, supported by strong forecast growth in China , Thailand, the Philippines and India,” Agbon said.
As for pineapple, Agbon said the US is expected to remain the world’s largest importer of the fruit, accounting for 46% of global imports.
Pineapple output worldwide for 2010 is forecast at 15.8 million tons, nearly 26% of world tropical fruit production, Agbon said.
He said the Asia-Pacific region is expected to account for 45% of pineapple production, with 36% in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 16% in Africa .
“The forecast indicates a declining share of global pineapple production for Asia and the Pacific with total output anticipated to reach 7.1 million tons, despite strong growth rates forecast for the Philippines and Thailand ,” Agbon noted.
Earlier, Agbon said government and business executives are now in further talks with agribusiness proponents on some P400 million-worth of investment packages that prospective investors have expressed interest in during a recent agri-investment forum.
These investment packages cover assorted areas such as coconut oil production, organic garlic production and processing, mushroom production and expansion, and corn postharvest processing, according to Agbon.Potential investors invited by DA Secretary Arthur Yap are eyeing 13 of 17 investment packages that were presented to them, said Agbon.—