With the high demand for durian products in the international market, the Durian Industry Association of Davao City (DIADC), in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, encourages Davao durian farmers and those connected with the durian industry to participate in the first Philippine Asia Durian Summit as it is an opportunity for farmers to gain new knowledge in the durian production industry.
Mr. Emmanuel Belviz, president of the DIADC, said during the I-Speak Media Forum on Thursday that several international and local durian experts will be sharing their knowledge at the summit.
“We invited, through the IMS Asia, our co-organizer, several durian experts from Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, the US, and somebody from Japan. We have around 8 international speakers and 6 local experts that will be talking during the summit,” he said.
The DIADC also coordinated with four durian farms for the field trip they organized at the end of the summit. The field trip aims to expose farmers to good farming practices that they may apply to their own farms.
According to Belvin, since the signing of the agreement between China and the Philippines to export durian fruits, they saw the need for the farmers for guidance in navigating this new market.
“The farmers need guidance on this new market so kailangan natin ng more quality durian, better production, kay kung i-ano natin sa production, average production of durian in the Philippines, mga farmers kasi kaya lang kasi ng 7 tonnes per hectare a year. Medyo behind tayo (The farmers need guidance on this new market since we need to have better durian quality and production. In terms of average durian production in the Philippines, our farmers can only produce 7 tonnes per hectare, so we are behind in that aspect),” he explained.
An exhibit will also take place alongside the summit. Around 10 international exhibitors will be participating in the exhibit, bringing with them new technologies and new variants of durian that they wanted to promote.
Admission for the exhibit is free while the summit will require participants to pay a registration fee for the plenary.
The Philippine Asia Durian Summit will run from October 25–27 at the SMX Convention Center in SM Lanang Davao.
Registration for the summit is still ongoing and walk-ins are accepted. For more details on the event, interested participants may visit their official Facebook page: Philippine Asia Durian Summit. CIO
