Mango value chain in the Philippines
Two researchers from CIRAD's HortSys, associated with University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB), carried out a mission from September 16th to 23rd on Luzon island in the Philippines. The objective of the mission was to understand the functioning of the national mango value chain and to identify the problems faced by stakeholders, with a view to implementing a future research and development projects for the sector.
| A mission funded by the French Development Agency (AFD) was carried out on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, by Dr. Emile Faye, Dr. Julien Sarron (CIRAD, HortSys), researchers at the CIRAD’s HortSys, and Prof. Pr. Calixto "Chito" M. Protacio, researcher at ICrops UPLB. The aim of the mission was to gain an overview of the value chain of ‘Carabao’ mangoes in the Philippines. This mission was an opportunity to meet various stakeholders in the mango industry (farmers, orchard owners, spray-contractors, exporters, researchers and national institutions), to understand their constraints and problems in the face of climate change. | |||
| Interviews with growers, orchard owners, and contractors provided an understanding of the structure of the mango value chain in the Philippines. Downstream stakeholder issues have also been identified. The Philippine mango industry suffers from low yields per hectare, partly due to the ageing of ‘carabao’ plantations, and severe cecid fly damage. The cecid fly and anthracnose are responsible for significant damage to fruit production, making much of it unfit for export. Currently, there is no other way to control the pest than bagging the fruits and applying chemicals, which generate high production costs. When added to other inputs, such as flowering induction, quality mango production becomes unsustainable for growers. CIRAD and UPLB could consider new production alternatives to control cecid fly and increase mango yields. | |||
| The second objective of this mission was to present CIRAD's PixFruit® expertise to stakeholders in the mango sector in order to assess their interest for such a digital support solution. This expertise enables the development of a co-constructed digital solution for estimating production variables (yield, surface area, fruit quality and size) of fruit crops prior to harvest. The mission team was able to take the pulse of the mango sector with regard to this type of tool, and assess the interest of the stakeholders. For example, this kind of tool could be used by the industry to estimate the color and size of ‘Carabao’ mangoes at harvest. This joint mission by CIRAD and UPLB should enable new projects to be set up to improve mango production in the Philippines. |
Published: 23/09/2023