Great Leaders in Our Midst

TOFIL column published in Philippine Star

Bringing Philippine Mango to the World
by Hernani G. Golez, Ph.D. †
Agriculture, 2007
Publication date Aug 24, 2009

            What legacy do I have to leave?  This question has always haunted me with my few years stay as public servant in the Department of Agriculture.

            Perhaps, a contribution that will improve the lives of small farmers  through the development of appropriate and cost effective technologies, and providing ready markets for their produce.

            I have long been fascinated with the tropical fruit, mango.  For more than three decades, I studied its botany and cultivation, bringing together voluminous information obtained from researches and experiences.  Being a banner commodity in many regions, mango is a crop to be developed, next to banana and pineapple.  Why not?  The Philippines has one of the most important variety (carabao) accepted worldwide.  The mango industry has supported about 2.5 million Filipinos and has also substantially contributed to Gross Value-Added, or GVA, in agriculture.

            Unlike banana and pineapple which belong to the multinational sector, mango is still a backyard crop dominated by small and fragmented farmers.  Activities geared toward increasing yield and opening more markets is therefore a big challenge.

     In the recent years, the Department of Agriculture, through our research group, has developed technologies to improve the variety, enhance tree vigor, reduce pest problems and improve post-harvest handling, thus boosting production of better quality fruits.  These technologies are also tailored to site-specific recommendations for a particular region in the country.

            While these advancements were done as a group effort, let me now share my humble undertakings to address the market concerns of our growers.  Mango export has been dwindling in the last five years with less than 10 % of total production going to traditional markets like Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.  On the other hand, there is also a big opportunity for our mangoes to penetrate the larger markets of USA, Canada, Europe and Australia.  However, due to strict quarantine requirements of importing countries, expansion of export markets has been slow.

            With the assistance from U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, I am now spearheading a comprehensive survey to determine absence/presence of the mango pulp/seed weevils which are pests of quarantine concern.  This undertaking is very important since the absence of these insects can result to area freedom certification, allowing many provinces in the country to gain access to lucrative markets.  The survey conducted in Luzon involving seven regions and 36 mango growing provinces provided scientific evidence for the absence of the weevils.  This means that the mango pulp weevil is only restricted in Palawan, while seed weevil is absent in the area.  We also expanded the area of coverage to include mango growing areas in the Visayas.  Our initial findings also showed the absence of the two quarantine pests in the three regions and 16 provinces.  Late this year, the survey will include provinces of Mindanao with high hopes that these pests do not exists in the area.

            What are the implications of these activities?  First, we can show to the world that the mango seed weevil is not present in the country as alleged earlier.  Second, the mango pulp weevil is still confined in Southern Palawan and has not affected other mango growing areas of the country. Finally, the area freedom certification of the country will allow access to more markets giving small growers opportunity to increase income and improve their socio-economic lives.

     I am giving myself one year to obtain this certification so that all efforts done to develop mango technologies and to disseminate them to farmers would not be in vain.  I have shown this worked in Guimaras where I opened mango markets to US and Australia, and more so in other areas of the country.

          My determination to see a successful mango industry is deep rooted with my passion to work and serve the Dept. of Agriculture to address the issues/concerns of the mango growers.  While I also realized the enormous task that lies ahead, I encourage stakeholders of the industry to get involved and share their best effort: a contribution that can spell a difference.

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