NEWSFLASH

---

INTERNET LINK FOR RP MANGO INDUSTRY IN '98

Los Banos, Laguna, Nov. 30, 1997 - A United Nations grant will boost the Philippine mango industry's global competitiveness by linking mango producers all over the Philippines via the Internet.

The Mango Information Network (MIN) is jointly financed by a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) grant of $300,000 and a counterpart fund from the Department of Science and Technology and the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD).

Four satellite nodes will be established in major mango-producing provinces: Zambales/Pangasinan, Palawan, Guimaras/Iloilo and Davao. The MIN's central node is located at the PCARRD head office in Los Banos.

The computer-based project aims to establish local and foreign linkages for the local and foreign users of mango information, develop an information system for the industry and foster business alliances among all the sectors of the industry.

The project will benefit the cooperatives of agrarian reform beneficiaries, small landholders, medium- scale and large-scale mango growers aiming for the export market, traders, processors and exporters.

---