Efforts to realize the roadmap development of the calamansi industry in Oriental Mindoro kicked off with a back-to-back training workshop at the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) headquarters in Los Baños town in Laguna province.
Through Searca's Research and Thought Leadership Department, the Back-to-Back Training Workshops on Roadmap Development and Marketing Strategies for Calamansi from April 11-14, 2023 is a form of technical assistance for the roadmap development in collaboration with the Oriental Mindoro provincial government.
According to Searca Director Glenn Gregorio, the training workshops aimed to capacitate select representatives of the calamansi industry in the province to develop a calamansi industry provincial roadmap.
He said the representatives were also trained in product branding and marketing to prepare them for the roadmapping exercise.
Gregorio said Searca has been actively involved in commodity roadmapping activities in the Philippines and other neighboring Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries.
He noted that the efforts for the roadmapping process are complex but effective in engaging and ensuring participation among stakeholders to strategically plan for the development of agricultural value chains.
"Thus, Searca continues to provide technical assistance to the national and local governments in developing commodity industry roadmaps that are inclusive and owned by the stakeholders," Gregorio added.
During the first training workshop on roadmap development, facilitator Leilani Briosos-Mc Donough tackled four major topics such as introduction to roadmapping, the roadmapping process, roadmapping planning and effective facilitation.
Also during the activity, Caroline Grace Pedragosa, calamansi roadmapping technical consultant, shared her insights about the calamansi industry in Oriental Mindoro.
The second training workshop on marketing strategies was facilitated by Renen Szilardo de Guzman from the Department of Agribusiness Management and Entrepreneurship, College of Economics and Management of the University of the Philippines Los Baños.
De Guzman, an assistant professor, introduced the basic concepts of marketing, consumer behavior and competition. Moreover, he also discussed the use of various marketing tools for collaterals, as well as online and social media content creation.
Also joining the weeklong event were various experts from the Oriental Mindoro Provincial Agriculturist's Office, the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Agriculture-Mimaropa (Region 4B), the Mindoro State University and members from the Victoria Kalamansi Farmer's Federation.
Gregorio said the experts will comprise the roadmapping team that will craft the province's calamansi industry roadmap led by Provincial Agriculturist Christine Pine and Provincial Planning Development Officer Lennie Alberto.
Gregorio said Searca and the provincial government of Oriental Mindoro will also organize a series of seminars and stakeholders' consultation workshops from May to June 2023.
