Visitors who will attend the Agrilink trade show on October 6 to 8 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City will have a wide choice of seminars to attend during the three-day event.

This was announced by Antonio V. Roces, president of Foundation for Resource Linkage and Development (FRLD) which is the lead organizer of the country’s premier agricultural trade expo.

INDIGENOUS CROPS – On October 6, the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) in cooperation with the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) will discuss the various indigenous food crops found in different parts of the country.
These include the sugod-sugod and kapas-kapas which are vine crops with edible fruits and shoots found in the Ilocos region. Another is the lagikway which is found in many parts of the country that include Quezon, Marinduque, Dinagat Island and other parts of Mindanao and the Visayas. Frederic Odejar of UPLB will discuss the health benefits of these indigenous crops as well as the ways they can be prepared as food and non-food products.

MUSHROOMS – BAR’s regional field office 5, in coordination with the Bicol Integrated Agricultural Research Center (BIARC), will discuss the latest research on the production of mushroom and its byproducts such as ice cream, catsup, crackers, soup, pickled and dried mushrooms. BIARC’s Pedro Oliver will also discuss the proper methods of making mushroom spawn as well as postharvest, marketing and commercialization methods involved in the value chain.

HERBS AND SPICES – Dr. Estela Taño, technical consultant of Green Rescue Organic Association based in Tiaong, Quezon will conduct a seminar about the utilization of various herbs and spices as natural alternatives to synthetic remedies for ailments such as body pains, wounds and splinters. She will also conduct a demonstration on the use of herbs and spices like turmeric, native ginger, oregano and ground coffee.

INVESTMENT FORUM – On October 6, the Department of Agriculture’s Agribusiness and Marketing Service in partnership with other agencies such as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will hold an investment forum an B2B seminars together with the Korean trade mission on food processing, including kimchi manufacturing, seaweed and seafood processing, fruit beverages and poultry; non-food agricultural processing such as coconut coir; biomass renewable energy from wood pellets; and biotechnology.

EDIBLE LANDSCAPING – On October 7, UPLB will conduct a seminar on the business opportunities in edible landscaping, the integration of food plants in designing ornamental landscapes. There will also be an investment forum on how to start a poultry egg business. The DA will also agribusinesses can increase their trade with the country’s free trade area partners. |The forum will also provide information on how to avail of preferential tariffs, access to market information, and how to develop linkages as well as how to penetrate and expand export and market share to partner economies.

On October 8, DA will conduct a series of information sessions focused on providing guidance and direction to agribusinesses and other related stakeholders about compliance with the latest regulations on food fussiness. Free-range chicken production will also be conducted. Seminars on various fisheries topics will also be conducted by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in collaboration with the private sector.