PHOTO RELEASE
Positioning Eastern Visayas jackfruit industry with better technologies. Jackfruit growers listen to a lecture of Dr. Francisco T. Dayap, Officer-in-Charge, Field Operations Division, Department of Agriculture, Regional Field Office 8, in Tacloban City.
Dayap presented the situationer and support program for the jackfruit industry in Eastern Visayas in one of the fora for the FIESTA on Jackfruit at Iba pa, which was held on August 8-9 at the Visayas State University (VSU) in Baybay City, Leyte.
Farms and Industry Encounters through the Science and Technology Agenda, or FIESTA for brevity, is a technology promotion strategy initiated by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD).
Considered as one of the FIESTA's main activities, the technology forum provides a venue for the discussion not only of technologies, but also of farming trends and issues about a particular focus commodity, in this case, jackfruit, together with coconut, pineapple, and shellfish.
Dayap explained that Eastern Visayas is one of the jackfruit producing regions in the Philippines. Aside from the region’s climatic condition, which is favorable for the growth and development of jackfruit, the Eastern Visayas Integrated Agricultural Research Center (EVIARC) has even boosted the region’s reputation as a jackfruit producing region with the development of the EVIARC Sweet variety.
The development of EVIARC Sweet reflects the region’s goal of being the lead producer of high quality fresh and processed jackfruit in the Philippines, which captures both local and domestic markets by 2022.
Dayap also explained other opportunities including the constraints existing along the Eastern Visayas jackfruit value chain.
Among the opportunities cited by Dayan are: the presence of technical expertise as provided by DA and VSU; strong partnership between farmers and government agencies; and the great demand which is greater than production.