PNoy to keynote 17th World Electronics Forum in Cebu
CEBU CITY, April 19 (PIA) -- President Benigno S. Aquino III will be in Cebu on Friday, April 20, to grace the 17th World Electronics Forum (WEF) and the 108th General Membership Meeting of the Semiconductor Electronics Industry of the Philippines, Incorporated (SEIPI) in Shangri-la Mactan Resort and Spa, Lapu lapu City.
Around 200 delegates composed of presidents and chief executive officers of electronics industry organizations worldwide and company executives of multi-national firms, and SEIPI member-companies are attending the forum where President Aquino will deliver the keynote address.
The event will be an industry platform aimed at enhancing the state of the electronics industry to shape global, regional, country and industry organization agendas.
There will be an exchange of information on the latest developments, challenges and changes happening in the electronics environment so as to know how the Philippines and other electronics industry organizations worldwide could adapt, align or move in-sync with global technology vectors.
Tomorrow’s event is the first visit of the President to Cebu for this year. (PIA 7 Cebu)
=============
Forum on Phl landfill gas held in Visayas
By Hazel F. Gloria
CEBU CITY, April 19 (PIA) -- A Philippine Landfill Gas Forum in the Visayas will be held on April 24 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Parklane International Hotel, Cebu City.
The forum will present the basics of landfill methane energy project planning, design, and financing as well as discuss opportunities for landfill gas (LFG) capture and use in the Philippines.
The forum will feature an LFG estimation exercise which can help landfill operators assess the methane gas emission of the landfill.
The event is organized by the Philippine Council for Industry and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) in cooperation with the Global Methane Initiative (GMI), National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC), and the Department of Science and Technology – Regional Office No. 7 (DOST 7).
The activity is free and meals will be served. However, transportation and hotel accommodation of participants from distant places will be at the expense of the participant. Seats are available on a first-come-first-served basis.
Interested participants should contact Russel Menchavez either through email: mmenchavez@ro7.dost.gov.ph or thru telefax no. (032) 414-7477 for registration and further details.(rmn-PIA 7/HFG/DOST-7)
=============
DA 7 establishes farmer field schools in Cebu to help mango growers boost production
By Fayette C. Ri�en
CEBU CITY, April 19 (PIA) -- In order to revitalize the mango industry in Cebu, the Department of Agriculture (DA) 7 has established five farmer field schools to train and educate mango growers on the proper agricultural practice to boost mango production.
Wilberto Castillo, the chief of the Regional Coordinator Crop Protection of DA-7 said the farmer field schools (FFS) are established in the cities of Toledo, Danao, and Mandaue of which the latter have two farmer schools located in Paril and Subangdaku and in the town of Compostela.
“The farmer field school is an extension tool of the DA-7 where lectures to farmers are given such as on integrated pest management and appropriate agricultural practices on mango growing,” bared Castillo.
Mango growers also undergo practicum in the field schools where they do hands-on training on cleaning, fertilizing, and flowering until the harvest stage. It is a season-long training to really assist mango farmers yield productive harvest, disclosed Castillo during the recent Kapihan sa PIA on the region’s mango industry.
"The farmer field schools have regular classes once a week that covers four months or 16 to 18 weeks," Castillo said.
According to Castillo, the facilitators of the field schools are from the DA-7 with counterparts from the local government units particularly their Municipal or City Agricultural Officers.
Site of the schools are in the backyards or plantations of mango growers.
Castillo said there is a huge demand for export of fresh and dried mangoes as Cebu is currently exporting fresh mangoes to Japan, Hongkong, and Australia.
For dried mangoes, there are a number of Cebu companies such as Profoods and 7Ds that are largely exporting processed mangoes mostly in the US and Canada markets, revealed Castillo.
There is so much potential for the mango industry but the production cannot keep up with the demand because of poor agricultural practices by farmers. Castillo expressed optimism that the field schools can improve behaviors in agricultural practices to boost mango production in Cebu.
Cebu meanwhile, accounts for the largest production of mangoes in Central Visayas with 60 percent, said Castillo.
In 2010, the total production in Central Visayas was 71,000 metric tons based on the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics under the DA 7, Castillo disclosed.
Castillo said the data for the 2011 total mango production in the region is still being finalized. (FCR/ Clara Jane Ayson/CNU-Intern, PIA 7, Cebu)
==============
Mango growers urged to boost production
By Amorganda A. Saludar
CEBU CITY April 19 (PIA) -- There's a dearth in supply for huge demand for mangoes. The Department of Agriculture in Region 7 (DA-7) and the Mango Growers Association challenged the mango growers as well as local government units (LGUs) in Cebu and other provinces in the region to improve their mango production system.
This, after it was noted in a recent forum that the local mango producers have been struggling to meet the growing demands in their industry.
DA-7 Regional Crop Protection Chief Wilberto Castillo encouraged mango growers in the region to drop the traditional system used in mango production and adopt the method of fertilization and pruning and the use farming of technologies provided by the agency to increase production of mango so they can meet the demand for mango supply in the country and abroad.
“Fertilization and pruning is very essential for the growth of mangoes and to avoid pests and other insects that would hinder mango production,” Castillo said.
He added that mango growers in Cebu and other provinces in the region are still employing poor management plan, resulting to poor mango production that is insufficient for the needed quantity for export and local use.
National President of Mango Growers Association Virgie de la Fuente stressed the need to focus on production, "since in the aspect of farming and production technology everything is in place already."
She also challenged LGUs to consider mango production a top industry with a big potential in generating income.
Both officials sat as resource persons in the recent PIA Kapihan forum held by the Philippine Information Agency here.
They were both in agreement that the mango growers and the LGUs should be urged to double their efforts in increasing the production of mango in the region.
Meanwhile, both officials also pledged to do their part to employ intervening measures to improve the status of mango industry.
The DA will support in the inputs and implement more strategies to improve the production of mango industry while the Mango Growers Association will conduct close monitoring on the status of mango industry in order to come up with solutions to problems affecting mango production. (rmn/AS-PIA 7, Cebu)