The Cabugao Mango Farmers and Multi-Purpose Association (CMFMPA) proposed for a Production and Marketing of Fresh Carabao Mangoes under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) in 2015. After almost three years of repeated revisions of subproject proposal, the infrastructure of the enterprise was finally completed on November 23, 2017 and awarded to the CMFMPA on January 18, 2018.

The enterprise which has a total worth of Php 13,100,971.14 includes the construction of a Mango Packaging Center in the Municipality of Cabugao, Ilocos Sur. The packaging center alone costs Php 4,828,230.69.

The packaging center was built on a municipal-owned 800-square meter commercial lot which is beside the Cabugao Public Market. The floor area of the packaging center measures 200 square meters which can accommodate 28,405 kilograms of mangoes or 1,235 crates containing 23 kilograms of mangoes each.

The Mango Packaging Center is targeted to reduce post-harvest losses and to provide a multi-purpose area for mango farmers to conduct pre-marketing activities (i.e. sorting, grading, and packing) for the production of high quality mangoes to access and cater export markets.

Ms. Faith Sabio, President of the CMFMPA, expressed gratitude to the PRDP as well as to the Provincial Government of Ilocos Sur and Municipal Government of Cabugao. She said that the CMFMPA will do its best to sustain the enterprise.

The mango farmers have been anticipating the completion of the mango packaging center and the full accomplishment of the mango enterprise for almost a year now. The enterprise is a dream come true for farmers which have been experiencing challenges in growing mangoes for the past years because of the infestation of Cecid fly.

The enterprise is the first of its kind proposed under the PRDP. Other enterprises supporting priority commodities like onion and garlic are targeted to start implementation within the year.

The Municipality of Cabugao is also the location of the largest Farm-to-Market subproject proposal under the PRDP in the Ilocos Region amounting to Php206 million, the Rehabilitation of Pug-os-Nagcullooban FMR. ### (Vida V. Cacal and Dessa U. Estrada, RPCO 1 InfoACE)