PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan (PIA) — The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Palawan is encouraging establishments to help promote cashew to tourists by offering quality processed cashew products.
Board member Ariston Arzaga said that such promotion will also help to sustain the development and production of the cashew industry. It is encouraged in resorts, hotels, inns, and catering business establishments operating in tourist destinations in Palawan.
“Ang cashew may special attachment kasi sa atin dahil tayo cashew capital of the Philippines–Maliban sa may target ang ating Department of Agriculture na palawakin ang pagtatanim ng cashew pero paano natin ma-generate ang support kung hindi natin ipa-patronize ang ating produkto?”
Palawan is contributing about 90 percent of cashew production in the country, according to the records of the Department of Agriculture-Palawan Research and Extension Station (DA-PRES). However, it sustained significant damage after Odette’s onslaught in 2021.
Based on the report submitted by Odette-affected towns to PRES in January 2022, around 900,000 cashew trees were damaged in Palawan. The majority of the damage was recorded in Roxas, labeled as cashew capital of Palawan, where 320,472 trees and 2,054.31 hectares of the area were affected.
PRES chief Librada Fuertes previously said in reports that it will take five years for the cashew industry since Odette’s onslaught to fully recover its contribution to national production. Arzaga added that aside from calamity, low production is also a challenge when rain coincides with the flowering and fruiting of cashew.
Quality processed cashew products offered in those establishments will be a good avenue to expand cashew development in Palawan, following its downfall in 2021 up to the present, Arzaga said.
“Beneficial din ito sa ating growers kung tuloy-tuloy natin i-develop ang industry, palawakin natin sa mga bayan-bayan—Tuloy-tuloy naman ang production and distribution nila ng seedlings, in few years malamang makatayo na yong mga natumba nating puno,” he said.
He also wants to incorporate cashew as a tourism product, aside from the scenic views of tourist destinations in Palawan. The proposed resolution was approved on its second reading, dispensing the third and final reading. (RG/PIA Mimaropa – Palawan)
Topmost photo: Quality processed cashew products offered in those establishments will be a good avenue to expand cashew development in Palawan (Photo courtesy of Philippine News Agency)
