MONTEVISTA, DAVAO DE ORO | November 26, 2022 – Forty-six (46) attendees attended the 3rd year-end General Assembly and Christmas Party of the Fertilizer and Pesticide Dealers Association of Davao de Oro Inc. (FAPDACI Davao de Oro) at D’ Fortees Nature Park and Inland Resort in Montevista, Davao de Oro last November 26, 2022.

As part of the program, Syngenta’s Product Stewardship Manager Ms. Catherine Sumagaysay discussed the awareness of the safe use of Crop Protection Products as well as the Herbicide Resistance Action Committee (HRAC), Insecticide Resistance Action Committee (IRAC), and Fungicide Resistance Action Committee (FRAC).

Provincial Officer (PO) Rustom Gain Tanduyan, who also served as the association’s adviser, presented the FPA updates and warned the participants about the proliferation of fake and off-spec fertilizers and pesticides in the market.

Through the general assembly, PO Tanduyan reminded the dealers of the basic practices of safety dispensers on checking the pesticide labeling since mislabeled products were increasing in the market. He also reiterated the proper repacking procedures of fertilizers into different kilogram bags and conducting random weighing activity of fertilizer bags before accepting the products from their suppliers. He emphasized the importance of patronizing products from FPA-licensed suppliers/distributors and checking the products’ legitimacy by visiting the FPA website.

And to further strengthen the presence and visibility of the association to the farmers and local government, FPA and FAPDACI planned to establish awareness campaign programs by putting up IEC billboards and posters with information about the pesticide’s shelf life and warning against underweight, fake, and off-specs fertilizers to all strategic locations in the province. FPA and FAPDACI agreed to coordinate with the LGU and Industry Players to materialize this proposal by next year and, hopefully, another accomplishment for the Association.

Lastly, the re-election of a new set of officers and fun activities for the members were also experienced in the event.

The FAPDACI was created in 2018 with its set of Officers and members, and as of the moment, the association’s members grew to 72. The creation of the association was to establish a strong network of all dealers in the province, especially in the information dissemination of FPA updates, campaigns, thorough communication with the local government and the stakeholders, and welfare programs for the members. ###