MANILA, Philippines — There are important coming events that you would like to know. Like the Philfoodex, for instance. This is the 11th Philippine Food Expo to be staged on February 23-26 at the World Trade Center on Diosdado Macapagal Blvd. corner Sen. Puyat Avenue, Pasay City.

The trade fair aims to showcase the best local food products to both local and foreign attendees. The event’s theme is “From Farm to Fork, the Best Food Products to the World.”

To help buyers identify the sectors they want to cover, the four-day event will feature retail and exporters’ zones. Roberto Amores, Philfoodex president, said that the event will be a most ideal venue for sourcing and business matching for both local and foreign food industry players. He added that there are many exportable high quality products that are still unknown to the world market.

This year’s new features, according to Amores, include cottage industries pavilion and industry clusters showcasing the coffee, chocolate, mango, coconut, organic, condiments, snacks and beverage sectors.

Amores added that the Philippine Food Expo will highlight the importance of the various sectors involved in the manufacturing and development of export-quality food products – from ingredients, high technology processes, food safety standards and manufacturing practices to creative packaging and marketing strategies.

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FLORA FILIPINA EXPO 2012 — A major horticultural event, the Flora Filipina Expo 2012, will be held from February 23 to March 12 at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City. One highlight is the Scientific Conference that will be held on Feb. 24-25 at the Bureau of Soils and Water Manage-ment on Visayas Avenue corner Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City.

Fee for students is P1,600 while P2,000 is for non-students. The scientific conference will feature foreign and Filipino resource persons. There will be foreign speakers from Indonesia, Thailand, India and Singapore.

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FIRST NATIONAL COCO SUGAR CONGRESS — The First National Coconut Sap Sugar Industry Congress (NCSSIC) will be held on March 5 to 6 at the Marco Polo Hotel in Davao City.

The Congress aims to craft a master plan aimed at developing what is popularly called the coco sugar industry to seize more opportunities in a $1.5 billion alternative sweetener global market.

“With the increasing demand, the coconut sap sugar industry presents a promising business opportunity for the farmers and small to medium enterprises,” according to NCSSIC Chairman Erlene C. Manohar who is also project development officer of the Philippine Coconut Authority.

The Congress is under the auspices of the Bureau of Agricultural Research and the Philippine Coconut Authority.

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AGRI-KAPIHAN SKED — The Agri-Kapihan is now held every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12 noon at the AANI Weekend Market premises at the St. Vincent Seminary on Tandang Sora, Quezon City.

The topic on February 18 is on Biogas which will be tackled by Pio Rodriguez who has a working portable model for residential use.

On February 25, the topic will be on swine production which will be tackled by Vic Alburo.

The Agri-Kapihan is a forum that is open free to farming enthusiasts. It was organized in 1986 by the editor of this page, and has been ongoing since then.

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KSA RADIO PROGRAM — Tune in to the radio program “Kaunlaran sa Agrikultura” (KSA) which is aired every Sunday from 4:30 to 7:30 in the morning on radio station DWWW, 774 khz on the AM band. It is co-anchored by Tony S. Rola, Nina Manzanares- Agu and Zac B. Sarian.

We have a segment on ornamental horticulture and success stories. Other segments include farm mechanization, fruit trees, fertilizers and pesticides, marketing ideas, research results, schedule of events and many others.

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Log on to www.zacbsarian.com for farming ideas, success stories, farming stragtegies, events, natural farming and many more.