PH Makapuno Industry Kicks Off in Toronto
Members of the CALABARZON Outbound Business Mission to Toronto call on Consul General Rosalita S. Prospero at the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto on 24 August 2018. (Toronto PCG photo)
TORONTO 11 September — A Business Mission from CALABARZON region in the Philippines participated in a Trade Forum and Launch of the Makapuno Breakthrough Project at the Ontario Investment and Trade Centre on 27 August 2018 and at the Fifth Coconut Festival and Superfood Expo held at the David Pecaut Square in Toronto from 25 to 26 August 2018.
Co-organized by the Trade Office of the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce in Toronto (PCCT), the trade forum discussed developments and prospects in the makapuno industry and its viability as an area of investment for overseas Filipinos.
The Makapuno Industry and Agribusiness Investment Promotion Program was also launched during the forum. The project aims to invite overseas investors to fund the development of a 111-hectare Makapuno Island in Alabat, Quezon. Aside from a potential return of investment, the overseas investors can help alleviate the plight of coconut farmers and their families.
In her keynote remarks, Philippine Ambassador to Canada Petronila P. Garcia said that “this project is highly commendable as it dovetails with the aim of the Philippine government to turn the Filipino diaspora into entrepreneurs and investors and ultimately help in the development of the country especially the poorer regions in the Philippines.”
The Business Mission was composed of 10 food and non-food small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) from the Philippines. The food SMEs included: (1) Alabat Island KAANIB Farmers, (2) Olivia’s Coffee Seed Corporation, (3) Delfa’s Food Products, (4) Epicurian Gourmet Foods, (5) Alano Lees Food Manufacturing, (6) Pasciolco International, Inc., and (7) Philippine Coconut Research Development Foundation (PCRDF). Meanwhile, the three non-food SMEs were Eva Marie Arts and Crafts, Lolo Bobby Handicraft, and Rowilda’s Loomweaving.
The PCCT also organized “Tree to Life,” a benefit dinner to raise funds for the enhancement of embryo-culture technology as a means to propagate production of makapuno trees and develop a makapuno island in Alabat, Quezon.
Endemic to the Philippines, makapuno seedlings can only be propagated through embryo-culture technology and propagation can be costly for farmers, hence the investment coming from Filipinos in Canada can help prop up funding to grow more macapuno seedlings to satisfy the increasing demand for macapuno and its derivatives. END
For more information, visit www.torontopcg.dfa.gov.ph/ www.philcongen-toronto.com or https://www.facebook.com/PHinToronto
Senior Trade Representative Maria Roseni Alvero (rightmost) of the Trade Office of the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto, Consul Edna May Grecia-Lazaro (center) and Trade Assistant Ms. Giannina Uy (leftmost) visited a nipa hut display set up during the Coconut Festival and Superfood Expo at the David Pecaut Square in downtown Toronto from 25 to 26 August 2018. (Toronto PCG photo)
Her Excellency Ambassador Petronila P. Garcia and Consul General Rosalita S. Prospero witness the signing of the MOU among the Philippine Chamber of Commerce in Toronto, Philippine Coconut Research and Development Foundation (PCRDF) and other Philippine government agencies, to establish the Makapuno Industry and Agribusiness Investment Project. (Toronto PCG photo)
Ambassador to Toronto Petronila P. Garcia (center) receives sample products derived from makapuno from Regional Director for Philippine Department of Science and Technology CALABARZON Alexander Madrigal (left), and Philippine Department of Trade and Industry CALABARZON Assistant Regional Director Marcelina Alcantara (right). (Toronto PCG photo)