Cacao growers cite VP-elect Inday Sara's legacy

DAVAO CITY, May 27 (PIA)- Cacao Industry Development Association of Mindanao (CIDAMI) president Val Turtur cited outgoing Davao City Mayor and Vice President-elect Sara "Inday" Duterte in the growth of the cacao industry in Davao City.

“The City Government program thru Mayor Inday, we were given free cacao seedlings at the same time they continued to provide trainings they also gave equipment and machines for chocolate processors,” Turtur said.

The City Government had various programs and projects to assist cacao growers and chocolate processors in Davao City.

During her 2017 State of the City Address, the Mayor mentioned the Cacao Production and Marketing of Dry Fermented Beans, a sub-project under the Philippine Rural Development Project-Investment in Rural Enterprise and Agriculture and Fisheries Productivity (PRDP-IREAP) with Subasta Integrated Multi-Purpose Cooperative (SIMPC).

The project has 16 cluster members from Calinan, Tugbok, Baguio, and Marilog Districts with a total of 227 recipients, which includes 97 members of the Indigenous Peoples group.

In her 2019 SOCA the Mayor also mentioned the City Government’s Chocolate Enterprise Development Project which is in its first phase. One of the projects is Cacao City which serves as the market outlet of cacao processed products.

“This is in line with Davao City as the chocolate capital of the Philippines,” the Mayor said in her 2019 address.

The Vice-President elect was really keen in pushing for the chocolate and cacao industry in the city to the extent of providing equipment to our chocolate processors,” Turtur said in his speech during the return of the annual Chocolate Festival held at SM City Davao.

This marks the return of the chocolate festival which started in 2014. It was cancelled for two years due to the pandemic.

This year’s reopening coincided with the signing of Republic Act 11547 by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on May 27, 2021 which made Davao City as the Chocolate Capital of the Philippines recognizing the city as the top cacao producer across the nation.

“The chocolate festival serves as a motivation to the industry to sustain kasi napansin na siya ng government particularly yung RA11547,” Turtur said.

Meanwhile Nick Santos, regional operations manager of SM Supermalls-Mindanao said they plan to make the event an institution.

“As we move forward, we further envision to institutionalize a Davao Chocolate Festival Week which can be part of the city’s Tourism Calendar, with this we are excited to see what the future holds for our cacao industry,” Santos said (PIA/RG Alama)

Comments

Davao del Sur State College first president formally proclaimed

DIGOS CITY, Mar. 31 (PIA) – Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Commissioner Aldrin A. Darilag has formally proclaimed Dr. Augie E. Fuentes as the first president of the Davao del Sur State College (DSSC) in the investiture rites held recently at the Davao del Sur Coliseum in Digos City. Dr. Fuentes has been appointed as DSSC president in 2020, but her appointment was made formal only last March 17 due to the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The formal proclamation highlighted the institute’s accomplishments ever since they started as a state college, and not anymore as a sister campus of the Southern Philippines Agri-Business and Marine and Aquatic School of Technology (SPAMAST) of Malita in Davao Occidental. “Actually I would say that we are fortunate. Though we are young, though we are still around two-years old from the time we were launched, I say we are fortunate because we did not start from zero. We were a campus of SPAMAST such that there wer...

Pilipinas Shell to build import facility in Sta. Cruz, DavSur

DAVAO CITY, April 22- Petroleum giant Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation will be constructing its Darong Import Facility in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur. When completed it will be the third largest import facility in the country after the Shell Import Facility Tabangao in Batangas and the North Mindanao Import Facility in Cagayan de Oro. The Darong Import Facility has a rated capacity of 67-million liters of petroleum products. The import facility will help and promote business continuity and stability in the area by providing needed fuel resources for mobility during storms, floods and other calamities. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in Darong, Sta Cruz on April 22. The event was attended by Engr. Jaime G. Lao, Municipal Mayor of Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur; DMCI Holdings Inc. President Sid Consunji; Santa Cruz Storage Corporation President Das Consunji Reyes; and Juan Miguel Delgado, COO of Northern Star; Sta Cruz Storage Corporation and Stephen Tion...

LTO to public: Do not patronize colorum vehicles

NABUNTURAN, Davao de Oro (PIA) - An official of the Land Transportation Office enjoined the public for the eradication of colorum vehicles plying the streets in Davao region. During the second episode of Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas in Davao City, LTO XI Regional Director Eleanor Calderon urged the public not to patronize colorum vehicles to avoid any road safety risk and to also complement their enforcement operations against these violators. “If we stop patronizing these (colorum vehicles), they will just die a natural death; mawala ra na sila sa kalsad a (they will just vanish in our roads),” Calderon said. The traffic official emphasized that LTO XI has apprehended a total of 115 colorum vehicles from January to April 2024. Calderon also provided tips to identify colorum vehicles. She said that UV express vehicles should have yellow plates; other than that, the public should not board not yellow-plated vehicles whose drivers or operators are offering rides for a fee. “Dapat ...

PIA Davao Region

Search This Blog