Durian Festival Takes Center-Stage at Kadayawan in Davao
Davao City will hold the 16-day Durian Festival from August 10 to 25 in time for the Kadayawan Festival, according to an official of the Durian Industry Council
Romy Miculob, chair of the Durian Industry Council of Davao City in a forum at the Kapihan sa SM said the event will showcase the different varieties of Durian with their inherent characteristics from being sweet, milky and meaty.
He said the event will be the initial step of a series of marketing activities that the Durian Industry is going to undertake to promote the fruit.
Miculob recalled that stakeholders of the Durian Industry from all of Davao Region and the Department of Agriculture XI met last week to come up with the Durian Industry Road Map projected for the next five years.
“The industry aims to increase the volume of production from 37,000 to 100,000 metric tons by 2017,” he said.
Miculob said highlights of the road map include increasing the hectares of plantation from 6,000 to 10,000 hectares, region wide by 2017, budgetary support for capacity building, package of technology, training, organizational development and other productivity and quality enhancement, support for nursery development and regulation, continuing research and development, budgetary support for marketing and promotions here and abroad, and public-private partnership in major investment of fruit processing plants.
Remelyn Ricoter, executive regional director of the Department of Agriculture XI said the road map needs P7.6 Million fund from all stakeholders including the DA to move forward.
She said the funds will be used for production-support, research and development, post-harvest facilities, market linkages and capability enhancement program for all Durian stakeholders.
“We the DA and the Durian Industry Council are still finalizing the road map. We already have critical information that needs to be addressed and the concerns along the value-chain, came also from all stakeholders,” Ricoter said.
She stressed that Durian is one of the leading products of Davao Region aside from coconut.
Ricoter said given its comparative advantage to other parts of the country, stakeholders of the Durian find it right to improve more the development of the industry in Davao Region.
Davao City Revives River Festival
To recognize its riverine roots, this Kadayawan Festival in August will mark the revival of the Davao River Festival.
“All great cities started out from bodies of water, Davao City started from the Davao River,” said Richard Dian Vilar festival directorate citing the significance of the event.
The river festival which was once a part of the Kadayawan Festival before it was discontinued in 2009 will feature at least 10 river floats which will represent the 10 recognized indigenous peoples of the city.
To be held in the morning of August 16 the festivities will start at the banks of Barangay 5-A or Barangay Bankerohan which was the site of the old trading post and the fort of Datu Bago. The parade will make its way to the river until it reaches the river bank along the Tiongko Football field near the estuary.
Vilar said that Davao River has become a tangible natural heritage of the city. The term Duhwow from which Davao City got its name from the river, as the word means high grounds.
He added that as of the present they have secured the commitments of 13 bancas (boats) to be used as river floats, they are also inviting the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard to join the festivities.
The parade would last to about one-hour and will be marked by cultural presentations from the indigenous tribes which will be performed at the river banks. The festivity will also highlight the need to preserve the environmental integrity of the Davao River.
In the earlier stagings of the river festival, the activity has been utilized as a means to spread awareness about the delicate condition of the Davao River which can still be saved from further environmental destruction. (Joey Sem G. Dalumpines/Rudolf Ian G. Alama/PIA-XI)
