#MINDANAO
Over the last few years, we have seen climate variations affecting the growing and harvesting seasons of many of our crops. With these challenges, it is crucial to employ new techniques and technologies to achieve two aims for Philippine agriculture.
The first aim is to manage the uncertainties and possible weak harvests that climate variations bring. Changes in climate patterns have created additional harvest seasons for fruits such as Durian. However, extreme heat also affects poultry and may affect the irrigation of other crops. These climate variations can affect the volume of harvests and the quality of the products. It will be necessary to examine how our crops can be made more resilient to these variations.
The second aim is to improve production quality and quantity. This allows the farm to gain more income by reaching more markets that demand quality and getting better prices for the commodity. In turn, more jobs are created in the rural areas.
Old or current agricultural practices may no longer deliver the same outcomes and harvests when particularly faced with climate variations. These can reduce harvests or yields or raise costs for the farmer. The technology to be employed will, therefore, need to be affordable and cost-effective for the farmer for it to be sustainable.
That said, many large Filipino corporations such as Metro Pacific are now entering the agribusiness space by producing products such as milk (https://mb.com.ph/2024/8/25/metro-pacific-targets-p20-billion-revenues-from-agribusiness), targeting as much as P1 billion.
This is a major investment that shows us that the agribusiness space has become an interesting and viable sector for investment. The use of technology will play a big part for companies to realize investment goals.
Great events in Mindanao
I am congratulating the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the 26th Davao Agri Trade Expo (DATE). This annual event serves as the biggest agribusiness event in Southern Philippines, bringing thousands interested in livestock, poultry, fisheries, crops, and fruits to the event venue. The Davao region is the nerve center of our country’s center of agriculture export. It was good to see all the booths and free learning sessions that featured opportunities in Mindanao’s vibrant agribusiness sectors. One thing I happily noticed is how many of the participating sponsors and booth tenants went on social media to showcase their participation. This gives a positive message to the public.
I likewise congratulate the General Santos Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) for successfully hosting the 33rd Mindanao Business Conference (MINBIZCON). Over the years, each Mindanao Business Conference has been a venue to introduce new investments to the island. I am confident that this and future conferences will bring more investor interest in Mindanao. Recent economic reforms and new infrastructure will drive interest in Mindanao’s business sector. At the same time, I foresee more local governments ramping up their investment promotion activities to lure more investment.
Davao archdiocese@75
This year marks the 75th year of the establishment of the Archdiocese of Davao, which serves as the metropolitan archdiocese of the various Davao provinces, including the Diocese of Digos, Tagum, and Mati. Its theme “Journeying Together as a Synodal Church living out the Spirituality of Stewardship in our Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC) / Gagmay’ng Kristohanong Katilingban (GKKs)” makes clear that basic ecclesial communities are vital in bringing the Church to small communities and organizing the participation of the laity to bring Christ to the peripheries.