Indigenous Peoples (IP) communities cultivating Cardava bananas have established a global market linkage, facilitated by the Department of Agriculture (DA).

The DA-Davao Region (DA-11) said 1,593 kilograms of Cardava bananas from the Ata Paquibato Tribal Association (APATA) were purchased by See’s International Food Manufacturing Corporation in August.

The DA provided transport services through its Kadiwa trucks, enabling APATA to ship its initial batch directly to See’s factory in Bunawan, Davao City,

See’s has been in the market for 30 years and exports premium Philippine banana chips worldwide. It committed to purchase APATA’s Cardava bananas every 15 days.

The DA will assist in drafting a formal contract to protect both parties.

APATA chairperson Oliver Manlangan thanked its public and private partners for their support and trust.

“We thank the DA for giving us this market linkage. This will really help us in our livelihood,” Manlangan said in a statement.

The initiative was facilitated by DA-11’s Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran ng Kababayang Katutubo program, in coordination with the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division.

See’s president Ruben See affirmed the company’s dedication to supporting APATA’s produce.

“This is a dream come true,” See said in a previous news release.

To ensure quality standards, See’s conducted a briefing for APATA members on the proper classification of Cardava bananas.

The Cardava banana thrives in different types of soil, except highly sandy or rocky, and grows best in consistently warm and humid weather, according to the Department of Trade and Industry.

The variety is also among the priority commodities assisted by the DTI RAPID (Rural Agro-Enterprise Partnership for Inclusive Development and Growth) project, which is supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development with focus on increasing rural incomes by developing value chains for key agribusinesses.

The Cardava variety is often processed into banana chips due to its larger size, the DTI said.

“Our efforts will not go to waste. We are committed to finding ways to connect our farmers to the markets,” DA-11 Director Macario Gonzaga said in a news release. (PNA)