Commodities

Mango

Mango is one of the primary commodities of WESVARRDEC. It is a tropical fruit of the mango tree. Mangos belong to the genus Mangifera which consists of about 30 species of tropical fruiting trees in the flowering  family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to Southern and Southeast Asia, but now also grows in Central and South America, Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula. Mangos retain a special significance in the culture of South Asia. It has been designated the "national fruit" of the Philippines.

The province of Guimaras leads the exportation of mangoes. Due to the surplus supply, Filipinos developed strategies on how to used the mangoes that is not acceptable in the market.

FITS-OPA Guimaras searched for a Magasasaka Siyentista (MS) to cater to this issue. Ms. Tubongbanua was chosen as the MS of the said FITS Center because of her satisfactory achievement in this commodity. Residing in Barangay San Isidro, Buenavista, Guimaras. She is a chemist by profession and has been an employee of the Guimaras Bottlers Incorporated (GBI). She invented the Calamansi Concentrate and in a short period of time, the product would meet the high demand of the consumer due its unique taste.

When GBI slowed down its operations, MS Tobongbanua was given a half-year vacation. Using her expertise as a chemist, she made use of her time in food processing using locally available raw materials, particularly mango. After some experimentation, MS Tubongbanwa was able to develop various products out of mango and other fruits.  She labeled her products “McNester” and these are preferred and appreciated by consumers.  As inspired by her experimental work, she was able to create the McNester product that garners awards and appreciation to its stakeholders.

Today McNester is one of the “pasalubong” products that it speaks of Guimaras mangoes, reaching Japan, Guam, Hong Kong, and Thailand. She was recently awarded as the Gawad Agri Entreprenuer of the Department of Agriculture in Region VI and vies for another National Award.