SEARCA provides assistance to calamansi growers

MANILA, Philippines — The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) is collaborating with Oriental Mindoro to upgrade the province’s calamansi industry.

SEARCA proposed a Calamansi Roadmapping Exercise to the Oriental Mindoro Provincial Agriculture Office (PAgO) to boost the citrus fruit’s industry.

SEARCA program specialist Bernice Anne De Torres provided an overview of the roadmapping process to be undertaken as well as the proposed roles and activities which include a series of multistakeholder consultation workshops.

Various agencies involved in calamansi production, processing, and marketing are expected to participate in the workshops.

Following the meeting, PAgO will be putting together a roadmapping team that will lead the development of the commodity provincial roadmap.

SEARCA program head Pedcris Orencio led the discussion with the Mindoro State University (MinSU) for the development of an automated sorting machine which aims to shorten the processing time of calamansi-based products and minimize possible postharvest losses due to manual sorting and handling.

A biodigester will also be developed to reduce wastes from calamansi processing.

These activities are being coordinated by SEARCA’s Research and Thought Leadership Department (RTLD) in collaboration with the Emerging Innovation for Growth Department (EIGD).

In 2019, Tokyo University of Agriculture (Tokyo Nodai), in cooperation with SEARCA and Mindoro State College of Agriculture and Technology (MinSCAT), introduced off-season production of calamansi in Victoria, Oriental Mindoro as part of efforts to help the Philippines export the commodity.

A technology on pruning and the use of plant growth regulators to delay the harvest of calamansi have been employed in a pilot calamansi production in Victoria.

The techniques allowed year-round harvest, enabling farmers to enjoy a higher income from the high-value crop.

From 2015 to 2018, SEARCA – with the Mindoro State College of Agriculture and Technology (MinSCAT) and the Local Government of Victoria—implemented an action research program that helped revitalize the calamansi industry of Oriental Mindoro.

The Region IV-B or the MIMAROPA (Mindoro-Marinduque-Romblon-Palawan) region is the country’s top producer of calamansi, representing 32.6 percent of the total production in 2020.

In the region, Oriental Mindoro earned the moniker “Calamansi King” as it accounts for over 90 percent of the calamansi production.