Big banana players in Mindanao are pushing for the passage of the Comprehensive Development Act for Bananas, by asking Davao del Norte Rep. and House Speaker, Pantaleon Alvarez, to sponsor the bill.
The Philippine Exporters Confederation (Philexport) president, Ferdinand Marañon, told MindaNews that they are planning to talk to Alvarez as they convene members of the interim board of the National Banana Industry Council to elect its officers in the next few months.
Marañon said the law will allot an annual budget for the council to bolster the industry’s growth.
He said that the industry has prepared a draft bill and they need a House member to sponsor it in Congress.
Citing President Rodrigo R. Duterte, Philexport executive director, Edwin Sotto, said that the a law that will establish the National Banana Industry Council “is long overdue” to address pests and diseases, as well as other issues affecting the producers.
He said the law will establish the National Banana Research Center that will find cures for diseases like the Fusarium-wilt, or the Panama disease, that has affected over 15,500 hectares in Davao Region.
