Around 700 participants from three Visayas regions gather in Iloilo City for the Peoples' Organizations Summit, Thursday (Sept 13, 2018). (Photo by Perla Lena)
ILOILO CITY -- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Western Visayas is looking at making coffee as a primary livelihood commodity for peoples' organizations (PO) in the region.
DENR Assistant Regional Director for Technical Services Livino B. Duran, in an interview here on Thursday, said their discussion was “more aligned on how to improve production, post-harvest, processing and marketing.”
They will be identifying areas to increase production and talk to companies to assist in the processing of products.
“We will look into how to access investments to help our people’s organizations in terms of their development,” he said as he graced the Visayas-wide Peoples' Organization Summit.
He said a company is interested to assist in the processing should Panay Island can have at least 20,000 hectares of coffee plantations.
“We would like to bring Nestle to Panay. So if there is an available 20,000 hectares, then we are assured of market,” he said.
Aside from coffee, other products are fuel wood, fire wood and timber.
The POs are organizations that are “directly involved” in the implementation of DENR programs such as community-based forest management program (CBFMP, national greening program (NGP), forest management program (FMP) and coastal resource management areas, among others.
The summit also served as venue for POs to learn lessons while in the process of implementing programs and share best practices from various projects throughout Western Visayas, he said.
The event gathered around 700 participants from Central, Western and Eastern Visayas regions.
The summit has for its theme "Peoples' Organization: Environmental Synergy Amidst Project Diversity; Linking People to Market Opportunities".
During the occasion, the DENR also awarded environmental citations to Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Sr., the Katilingban sang Pumuluyo na naga Atipan sa Watershed (KAPAWA-Maasin), and the Tangalan Indigenous Peoples’ Organization and Province of Guimaras for their initiatives in support to DENR programs. (PNA)
