THE fruit that “smells like hell, but tastes like heaven” – as they say — is so highly propagated that competition and the existence of middlemen are threatening to send the durian industry to oblivion.
Durian can sell for as low as P25 per kilo in Davao City during a bountiful harvest, particularly during the Kadayawan Festival and the months after that. While this is a boon to durian-gorging Dabawenyos, this is a threat to durian growers who can hardly get back their investment.
This is the scenario which the city government of Tagum City is trying to avoid by establishing the Plant Now Pay Later Scheme of Mayor Rey Uy, and the ensuing Annual Durian Festival. Both programs are expected to sustain the marginalized farmer-growers.
“The durian farmers are faced with the problem of keeping their industry feasible and sustainable,” Tagum Tourism Council president Alma Uy said. Uy, who happens to be the wife of the city mayor, said it will take one ten years to make money from planting durian and this will all go to waste if the price of durian remains very low.
The durian industry is not receiving much support from the government, she said, compared to the durian industry in Thailand which is enjoying good prices. Selling durian at very low prices is not fair to the farmers who have toiled for years to grow their durian.
She said the Durian Festival is not just a showcase for the products of the farmers benefited by the government’s Plant Now Pay Later program, but it is also a means to keep the prices of durian within a reasonable level such that the durian farmers will be able to get a return of their investment and make a reasonable margin of profit as well.
The PNPL program started in the ‘80s, but became a city program when Uy became mayor in 1998. Under the program, farmers who have at least a hectare of land can avail of support from the city government in terms of technical know-how, seedlings, distribution and marketing.
“These inputs are given to them as loans, but without interest; they are required to pay the loan after their harvest,” she said. As of last week, the PNPL program had 200 farmer-beneficiaries who will be joining the Durian Festival scheduled in Tagum City from August 28 to September 6.
Uy said that instead of relying on middlemen to sell their durian products, the farmers can sell their harvest during the Durian Festival. The prices of durian will be fixed and controlled during the festival so as to keep the playing field level and allow the farmers to earn profits from their harvest.
Only the beneficiaries of the program, as well as members of the Tagum City Durian Growers Association, will be allowed to join and sell their products during the Festival, Uy said. This is to ensure that the price is beneficial to the farmers and to ensure that customers get value for their money.
“While we do not offer rock-bottom prices for the durian that will be sold during the Festival, customers are assured that they will get the right variety of durian they want; and if they are not satisfied with the quality of the durian they have been given then we will be willing to replace the durian,” she said.
A total of P300,000 has been allotted for the 2009 Durian Festival. The Festival will not only showcase durian products but will also be the venue for the Durian Culinary Festival which will be participated in by schools from all over Mindanao that will vie in different categories to include durian cakes, pastries and other recipes.
No less than Cibo restaurant owner Margarita Fores will be in Tagum to judge the entries to the Durian Culinary Festival.
Uy said even the farmers will get their own share of prizes because the Department of Agriculture will choose the best product during the Best Durian Competition.
Durian has often been referred to as the fruit of the Gods, because despite being an olfactory irritant, or, to put it bluntly — its stinky smell, durian has managed to capture the gastronomic fancy of most people, especially those who crave for its exotic and tasty pulp. And to make sure that every follower continues to enjoy the bliss that one experiences when eating durian, those who are in the position to do something should make sure that the durian farmers are protected and the sustainability of their existence ensured. [Lovely A. Carillo]
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