Diffun, Quirino— The Department of Trade and Industry Region 2 (DTI R2) – Quirino Provincial Office supports the emerging Ube Industry in Quirino Province through the conduct of Ube Industry Stakeholders Meeting held on 22 May 2024 at the QSU Training Center in Diffun, Quirino.

The activity is an initiative of the Provincial Government of Quirino thru its Provincial Agriculture Office in partnership with Quirino State University. It was attended by the representatives of the Department of Agriculture Regional Office 02 Regulatory Division, Municipal Agriculture Office of Diffun, Quirino Young Entrepreneurs Association (QYEA) and five (5) Farmers Cooperative and Associations (FCAs) namely Gabriela Masipag Farmers Cooperative (GAMAFC), Diffun Organic Farmers Cooperative (DIOFARMCO), Baguio Village Multi-Purpose Cooperative (BAVIMCO), Don Mariano Perez Farmers Consumers Cooperative (DMPFCC) and Magsaysay United Upland Farmers Development Association (MUUFDA).

This undertaking was conducted to ensure the sustainability of ube raw materials for powder production; introduce Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) to pilot FCAs who will be tapped to supply the raw material requirement for ube powder processing; identify consolidator who will facilitate the collection and delivery of fresh ube; and link the FCAs to other markets.

To achieve these goals, DA R02 committed to facilitate the GAP Certification of the five (5) FCAs through the conduct of a GAP Orientation Training and Seminar on 18-19 June 2024 and provision of other technological and infrastructure support. PLGU Quirino pledged its support through the distribution of initial 1000 kilos of ube planting materials sourced-out from FCAs to retain the quality of native ube variety. Moreover, DTI R02 will continuously provide assistance on market promotion, product development and certification, and DTI R2 Quirino assure its assistance in terms of Institutional Development with the various stakeholders towards synchronized provision of interventions in support to the Ube Industry Development Project. 

This activity provided a platform for meaningful discussions, addressing common challenges, and formulating collaborative solutions. Furthermore, this also fostered support from the Government agencies in tackling identified obstacles and how their respective programs will be able to address them. Recently, the Quirino Province’s ube powder under the brand JaBes manufactured by the Quirino Young Entrepreneurs Association (QYEA), have entered the lucrative Japanese Market for the third time after the successful delivery of another 500 kilos batch of ube powder. ♦

Date of release: 04 June 2024

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