The increased fruit production in the Davao region last year has strengthened it’s hold on the title of being the “fruit capital” of the Philippines.
“We have to thank the minimized weather problems last year,” Mindanao Fruit Industry Council officer and board of trustees member Candelario Miculob said. He added that southern Mindanao experienced a growth in fruit production last year, with good harvests in durian, pomelo and mangosteen.
Among the major fruit crops of the Davao region (Davao City, Compostela, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur and Davao Oriental) are banana, calamansi, mango, pineapple, durian, lanzones, mangosteen, papaya, rambutan, watermelon and mandarin.
Bureau of Agricultural Statistics records show that Davao region’s major fruit production from January to December 2009 had almost reached four million metric tons. On top of the list is banana, also the region’s top export commodity, with a total production of 3,749,766.10 metric tons. This is a 5% increase compared to the total production of 3,569,079.26 from January to December 2008.
The percentage of increase in durian, which was the second top produce of the region last year, is also notable. Durian production, which increased by 15.59% in 2009, registered the second highest percentage of increase among all the region’s fruit crops.
While rambutan registered the highest percentage of increase in production from 2008 to 2009 at 16.84%, the total rambutan production of 1,426.85 metric tons is very minimal compares to the total durian production last year of 42,521.01 metric tons.
Third in line is mango with a total production of 37,047.55 MT in 2009, which is a slight decrease compared from the total production of 38,595.28 metric tons in 2008. Papaya production decreased by 19.37% from 21,408.12 MT in 2008 to only 17,280.63 MT in 2009.
The total production of pineapple increased slightly from 22,303.26 metric tons in 2008 to 22,440.11 MT tons in 2009.
Also last year, the region produced 2,137.94 metric tons of mandarin, 1,062.73 metric tons of watermelon, 1,985.27 metric tons of lanzones, 10,028.88 metric tons of calamansi and 408.63 metric tons of mangosteen.
In terms of technology, Mindanao was still way behind other regions in the country with an estimated rate of 10 percent to 20 percent, Miculob said.
Technology improvement
Miculob said there is a need to improve the technology used in fruit production if the Davao region’s fruit industry is to survive the erratic weather changes brought about by climate change. These changes are already being felt by the industry in terms of abnormal harvest seasons.
It will not be surprising if there is a bountiful harvest of durian even before April, as this is one of the effects of the long dry season last year, and is one of the abnormal harvest changes. Off-season fruits like rambutan, marang and mangosteen culd be available at the fruit stands.
Miculob said that while fruit production in the region used to be concentrated in the third quarter of the year, this is about to change. fruit growers do not even have an assurance that the projected dry and wet seasons will not be characterized by mixed weather conditions.
He said both the government and the private sector should plan for mitigating measures that will address weather abnormalities, including the El Nino phenomenon which is expected to hit the country by middle of this year. “While the small growers are considered small players in the fruit industry,” Miculob said, “malaki ang contribution nila in terms of hectarage and production.”
Miculob said the small growers account for about 70 to 80 percent of the total hectarage planted to fruits in the region.
“The small growers, who have very little technical knowledge and lack facilities, would be the most hurt by the long dry spell,” he added.
Fruit farms will require a more extensive irrigation system when there is very little rainfall. Farmers should be able to adjust to the changing dry and rainy seasons so they can time their planting periods, he said.
Capacity building
What the fruit industry players need today is more technical know-how and capacity building. The Fruit Council and the government have thus planned several seminars and trainings for the industry, which started last week with the conduct of the “Technology and Organization Development Training” for mango farmers. The training, spearheaded by the Davao Region Mango Industry Cluster, aims to revitalize mango production so it will continue to keep the local economy afloat.
Miculob said the mango sector is faced with price control problems as a result of cartels or layers in marketing methods.
A “Market Encounter” will also be held in General Santos City from March 11 to 12 to discuss marketing linkages. A “Market Conference” will also be held in Davao City in July to improve the marketing scheme of fruit suppliers in Mindanao.
The El Nino phenomenon is expected to reduce fruit production by at least 20 percent for 2010, so the government and the fruit industry should find ways to mitigate these effects through cloud seeding and other measures.
Protecting the Davao region’s fruit production amid the effects of climate change is imperative considering the extent of the region’s contribution to the country’s coffers. Once this is done, there is a great possibility for the region’s fruit produce to become a major dollar earner not only for the region but also for the whole Mindanao area as it is already being eyed as a major supplier of fruits for the Middle East.
