By Danilo P. Padua, PhD
At this time of the year, usually the Baguio market and other markets in Northern Luzon are already swamped with locally-produced fruits such as citrus and rambutan, thus prices are already more affordable. Prices are still sky high.
I found out why, when I travelled to Nueva Vizcaya last week to attend a meeting of the National Fruit Crop Technical Working Group (of which I am a member). The meeting was held at the N.V. Experiment Station, the leading fruit crop research station in the entire Northern Luzon. It is headed by a no non-sense, dynamic and multi-awarded lady agriculturist Ms. Celerina Miranda, herself a long-time member of the NFCTWG.
NFCTWG meetings normally evaluate applications of varieties of various fruit crops from different individuals or institutions, that could be registered with the National Seed Industry Council. Any possible variety that passes strict evaluation is then recommended to the management council of NSIC for further scrutiny and possible approval. The strict procedure results to only a few applicants being bestowed the coveted registration. In last week’s meeting, there were almost 20 applications (mango, banana, jackfruit, strawberry) coming from UPLB, BSU, Bohol Expt Station, and several individuals, including a mayor, but only 3 were elevated to the management council.
After our meeting, we toured around the 180-hectare NVES where we were pleasantly surprised by the strides that the station had achieved in crops like rambutan, longan, mango, chestnut, marang, mangosteen, duhat, pommelo, longkong, durian, papaya, oranges and other fruits. They were also doing so much on organic agriculture in both crops and animals such as native wild pigs and chicken. The center, according to one of their leading staff, had only less than 10 original field hands a few years ago, but this had now ballooned to around 150, mostly contractuals and job orders.
Another surprise I got when I was there was that when I woke up early in the morning, I was treated to a blissful natural orchestra of melodious ring by various birds that were gaily gliding from one fruit tree to another. It made my day!
As we toured, I noticed that the rambutan trees were laden only with young green fruits. They were supposed to be bulging already with red gold at this time of the year. Our guide explained that the successive occurrences of typhoon Lawin and another whose name I forgot, were the culprit of this delayed fruiting and harvesting. It was a natural reaction of the trees to heal or recover first before they undertake their normal growth habit.
“Not only was the fruiting delayed but the number of fruits was also considerably lower”, explained the guide.
This also explains why harvesting of fruits of the same crops in CAR is similarly are delayed. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise to our fruit growers since harvesting does not coincide with the bulk of harvesting in other regions. That means, fruit growers could get more from their trees this year.
**
In last week’s issue, part of my article was about Sen. Cynthia Villar’s displeasure about the inaction of the DA and DOJ about the report submitted by her senate committee on smuggling of commodities like garlic, carrot and rice. Her ire actually cost the position of Dr. Vivencio Mamaril, the Bureau of Plant Industry director.
During the senate hearing on the smuggling, the senator took to task Dr. Mamaril, telling him in effect that he is sitting on his job, that he is good for nothing. Mamaril was defended staunchly by Sec. Piòol but the senator was not pleased.
I commiserate with BPI directors. Their agency is the one mandated to take care of importation of agricultural crops thus they dispense with import permits in accordance to existing laws. Once they had given the relevant permit, they have no way of knowing whether such permit was adhered to or abused. They don’t exactly have police powers. So, in a manner of speaking when smuggling occurs it is not within their control. Why then, should those directors be offered as scapegoats?
Sen. Villar herself stated that the smugglers are very influencial, awash with money and therefore almost untouchable. Why should a senator vent her ire on a stool, who was just doing his job as mandated by law? The removal of Mamaril, and Director Barron before him, were just a poor face-saving strategy of persons in power like Villar. Does it solve smuggling? A big thud on that. Why, Barron and Mamaril are just as poor as I am even today. I know both of them. I hope people like Sen. Villar could find a better way to have their recommendations be attended to without unfairly, unjustifiably, and non-sensibly sacrificing people in position who are doing their job as honorably as they could. **
