DINALUPIHAN, Bataan—The Bataan Peninsula State University (BPSU)-developed mango products got recognition “Promising Product” during the Galing Bataan Trade Fair.
Product development is a component of the existing BPSU and Commission on Higher Education (CHED)Discovery-Applied Research and Extension for Trans/Inter-disciplinary Opportunities) Research Grant (DARE TO) project entitled “Sustainable Mango Production through Science and Technology Innovations and Support Mechanisms for Capacity Development in Central Luzon”.
The certificate of recognition was given recently by the Provincial Government of Bataan with the DTI Bataan and Bataan Peninsula Tourism Council Foundation, Inc.
“The provincial government and DTI recognized that the mango products we developed have great potential”, BPSU Research Development Director and Project Leader Dr. Hermogenes Paguia told mango growers who attended the First Farmers’ Field Day and Harvest Festival on Mango held at Matawaran’s Farm, Barangay Pagalanggang, Dinalupihan on Friday.
“We can make these mango products as source of income. There are times that the price of mango fruit is not good in the market, and these processed mango products can be alternative”, he further explained to mango farmers.
“But the mango products need to be accredited by BFAD and also must have DTI registration. The BFAD accredition and trade registration will not be given to BPSU but to an entity, an individual or private owners, who will process the mango products. All of you can be entrepreneurs”, he said.
BPSU Associate Professor Dr. Rowena Valerio from College of Technology and Project Study Leader said the mango products they developed are mango tarts, mango polvoron (classic mango and chocolate coated), mango cookies, mango wine, pickled mango, mango marmalade, mango barquiron, mango spread, and mango bar.
Twenty four science and technology community-based mango model farms in Bataan (2 in each of the 12 towns) and 10 in the Zambales town of Palauig are adopted for the BPSU CHED DARE TO project. Thirty-two farmer-cooperators (22 from Bataan and 10 from Zambales) are participating.
The project is being implemented in cooperation with Ramon Magsaysay Technological University, Bataan provincial and local government units, and the local government unit of Palauig, Zambales. It has two years duration from 2017 to 2018.
