JORDAN, Guimaras – The 2nd Guimaras Dragon Fruit Fest opened at the provincial capitol grounds on Friday, August 4.
Provincial Board Member Felipe Hilan Nava, representing his brother Gov. JC Rahman Nava, said the provincial government believes that dragon fruit has a big potential.
DRAGON fruits for sale at the 2nd Guimaras Dragon Fruit Fest in Jordan town, Guimaras province. (Tara Yap)
“This is an initiative led by the private sector. The provincial government is supporting it,” said Nava, referring to the Guimaras Dragon Fruit Growers Association led by Bonifacio Tespoer.
The island-province is looking to diversify its agricultural produce by offering more than the sweet Guimaras mangoes which was the country’s first product to earn a Geographical Indication (GI) seal.
Francis Gentoral of the Provincial Economic Development Office said diversification is needed to attract more investors as Guimaras is a very small island.
The festival runs until August 13 and has various activities, including a trade fair that sells fresh dragon fruits or by-products, a cooking demo using dragon fruit as the main ingredient, a business forum, and a dragon fruit farming workshop featuring the latest technology.
Provincial Tourism Officer Liberty Ferrer said another key component of the festival is the tour of dragon fruit farms.
People from neighboring Iloilo are expected to flock to the festival.