Last December 2, 2009 was the first time I set foot on Mindanao soil. Even though Davao City is far from Maguindanao where the Ampatuan Massacre happened, I was still a little apprehensive. I did not tell my parents that I will be going there for a business trip lest they’d be worried.
I did not have enough time to see much of the city but from what I can observe, it was relatively peaceful. It’s really a big city, the largest in the country in terms of land area. It’s a bustling metropolitan and a melting pot of culture as well. There are Ilonggos who have also made Davao City their home. In all the firms we visited in Davao, we meet an Ilonggo which means there are also a lot of them here.
Sweet Pineapples
Mindanao seldom experiences typhoons thus it is ideal for growing crops. Dole and Del Monte have vast plantations of pineapples and bananas in Mindanao and mostly on lands under Agrarian Reform. The multinational companies rent the land from the CARP beneficiaries who also work in these companies. Most of the fruits are for export thus strict quality are observed. Those which cannot pass the size and weight requirement are considered surplus which are then sold in the local market. As it is, there are more products available than the local market can consume. The enterprising Davaoenos thought of adding value to the surplus pineapple by processing them into jam.
The pineapples used by DAVECOs ARB in Calinan are from DAVCO which is owned by the Floirendos. We were traveling for almost an hour without traffic and yet we;re still in Davao City. Unlike in Negros Occidental, in less than 30 minutes travel, you’re already in another city. The coop officers were very accommodating and even gave us a box of pineapple jam. There we met an Ilongga from Pontevedra, Negros Occidental who made Davao her home for more than 15 years. She was cooking pineapple jam when we arrived thus I wasn’t able to talk to her more. I always felt a kind of kinship towars fellow Ilonggos I met in other places so at every chance I get, I talked to them about their past life and their life in their new home.
The King
It’s either you love it or you hate it. The King of All Fruits is hell to others and heaven to some. It so happen that I love durian so I had a grand time having my fill of durian. While some people cannot tolerate the smell, I find the smell of durian sweet. We also have durian in Negros Occidental courtesy of ECJ Farms owned by Danding Cojuanco, Jr. but you haven’t been to Davao if you haven’t eaten durian so I indulged.
Processed durian is also a promising product which Davao has a competitive advantage. We visited Rosario’s, a relateively new enterprise but already won several awards in entrepreneurship. They process durian into jam and candy and also sells fresh and frozen durian. The durian they used is from the farm owned by the family. The patriarch Severino Belviz is an award winning farmer-scientist who has also developed his own variety of durian, the duyaya.
We were fortunate to meet Mr. Belviz and we learned from him that he is actually from Talisay City, Negros Occidental. His family migrated to Mindanao when he was just 15 years old. Every few years he visits his relative in Negros. What was also very inspiring about him is his humility. He could have named his durian variety after himbut he didn’t want that. Duyaya is from “durian” and “biyaya” because durian has been a blessing for his family. Mr. Belviz is not an agriculture graduate but learned through experience. When he learned we’re from Negros he said Negros has so much potential in agriculture if only people know how to harness them. He could be a very good mentor in agribusiness. Too bad I don’t own a farm.
Going Bananas
We also went to Davao del Norte where we visited a producer of banana flour. . Also an ARB cooperative, AMSEFFPCO in Kapalong, Davao del Norte produces banana flour from the banana surplus from DOLE Philippines.
Bananas is to Davao del Norte as sugarcane is to Negros. Anywhere you look there’s a banana plantation. The coop buys its banana raw materials from DOLE packing plants. Imagine, they buy Cavendish banana at a measly P0.20 per kilo. Even if these bananas are considered rejects, since they did not pass the required size for export, they may still of better quality than the ones you buy from the local market.
Of course we also met another Ilonggo at DOLE Philippines. This time, he is our ticket to go inside the facility. The manager was from Ajuy, Iloilo and he migrated to Mindanao during the 70s. When he learned that a group from Bacolod was visiting he cooperative whose bananas they are buying, he told the coop manager to have us meet him. We were flattered by the reception from a fellow Ilonggo. He must miss talking to an Ilonggo or just like me, felt a kinship towards a kababayan when in a “foreign” land.
It’s a waste that we do not have the freedom to enjoy other parts of Mindanao like what we can in Davao. Some people have made this paradise their kingdom and a hell for other people. I just hope someday we will all have the freedom to walk on Mindanao soil without having to fear for our lives.
