PANABO CITY, DAVAO DEL NORTE–As support to improving agricultural productivity and competitiveness in the country, ATI-RTC XI launched a series of activities to celebrate the High-Value Crops (HVC) Week, with a theme "Pagkaing Sapat, Masustansya Dapat" on April 10, 2025.
Adorned with colorful decorations and a joyous ambiance, the festive event kicked off with an opening message by the ATI-RTC XI Center Director Ms. Alicia Rose D. Nebreja.
She expressed her warm welcome to attendees and said, "Davao Region is rich with a wide array of high-value crops. On behalf of ATI, we hope that people will continue cultivating high-value crops." She also emphasized HVC's potential impact on food security and stability.
One of the activities was the Product Exhibition, which was participated in by the Rural Improvement Club (RIC) members in Panabo City. They showcased their products, such as fresh fruits and vegetables; goat's milk products; homemade vinegar, alamang, peanut butter, and honey; and handmade soaps, liniments, and fabric conditioners. During the exhibition, the attendees took an interest and bought some products.
The women RIC members took part in the Cooking Demonstration using indigenous vegetables and highlighted the use of indigenous vegetables in traditional Filipino dishes, commonly mixed in Law-Uy and Pinakbet.
Indigenous vegetables are also known as traditional or native vegetables. The RIC members incorporated okra, ampalaya, talong, sitaw, malunggay, corn, takway, and kamote tops in their hearty dishes.
Herbs also took a spotlight on Herbal Food Preparation, as the RIC members showcased the various uses for food and beverage. They shared that herbs play a crucial role in food production, acting as both flavoring agents and contributing to the overall nutritional value of food.
Student-trainees were also enjoined in the celebration, as they participated in the Visual Art Contest. This is a poster-making contest, where the student-trainees from the University of Southeastern Philippines and Davao Oriental State University expressed their artistic interpretations of the HVC theme.
A free, online Talk Show on HVC was also conducted through the ATI Davao Region Facebook page. Ms. Manilyn B. Bagon, President of the New Malaga High-Value Crops Association in Panabo City; Ms. Ofelia A. Sanchez, ATI-RTC XI HVC Development Program Focal Person; and Ms. Pauline Joy J. Reyes, ATI-RTC XI National Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture Program Focal Person were the resource persons for the talk show.
They tackled the importance of HVC, especially its role in food security in the country. They also talked about the agencies and programs supporting HVC. Moreover, Ms. Bagon also shared her association's HVC journey.
The event was capped off with a distribution of vegetable seedlings among the attendees, as ATI-RTC XI's commitment to boosting food production through planting high-value crops.
These colorful and momentous events are also aligned with the celebration of Filipino Food Month with the theme, "Sarap ng Pagkaing Pilipino: Yaman ng ating Kasaysayan, Kultura, at Pagkatao".
