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Wednesday, October 16, 2002
DOST boosts income of lemon growers
BESAO -- Growers of Meyer lemon in Mt. Province have a reason to rejoice. Their produce is assured of a stable market within their own backyard and with a good price to boot.
This happy news came from the provincial office of the Department of Science and Technology based in Bontoc which assisted Engr. Joseph Eming, a local resident here and president of the Montanosa Food Industries Inc., in establishing a Meyer lemon juice packaging and processing center, which is now on its initial stages of operation.
The operation of the Meyer lemon juice packaging and processing center was an offshoot of a memorandum of agreement signed by DOST Regional Director Ben Ladilad, Dr. Ernesto Lozada, director of the Packaging R&D Center of the Philippines, Industrial Technology Development Institute and Eming early this year, according to Norberto Cobaldez, provincial science and technology officer.
The ITDI is the implementing agency of DOST S&T Program while PRDCP is a technically equipped agency, also of the DOST, tasked to undertake projects to upgrade global competitiveness of locally-produced food products through improvement of packaging systems.
Meyer lemon has been recommended by foreign and local crop experts to local farmers here for them to grow because it is suited for the area. Unlike other high value commercial fruit crops introduced in Mountain Province, Meyer lemon does not require much inorganic inputs, readily grows on any slope with good irrigation, is not readily attacked by pests and diseases and bears fruit all year round.
Through the RP-German Fruit Tree Project of the DA's Bureau of Plant Industry, farmers in Mountain Province have been planting Meyer lemon trees for over two decades. Fruit production has reached its peak in 1996 until 2002. Lately, however, farmers started cutting down their lemon treess. Some are neglected in the field because prices of Meyer lemon fruits can reach as low as P4.00 in Mountain Province during the peak of harvest season.
A survey on the number of lemon trees conducted by the DOST in 1999 showed that there were about 25,000 fruit bearing Meyer lemon trees in the province. These trees are in the towns of Barlig, Bauko, Tadian, Besao, Sabangan, Sadanga, Sagada and Bontoc. The annual production from these trees is 739,000 kilos.
With the establishment of the Meyer lemon processing and packaging center in Besao, farmers should be encouraged not to reduce the number of their lemon trees by cutting them but rather they need to increase the area planted to this crop.
Cobaldez pointed out that the lemon processing and packaging center in Besao, if fully operational can accommodate from 2-3 tons of lemon per month.
He added that to date, Eming is committed to buy Meyer lemon fruits at P10.00 per kilo from the farmers throughout the year.
Eming currently produces pure juice drinks and concentrate products from lemon fruits. But the possibilities for diversifying the processing of lemon in Mountain Province are many, from wine and beverages to tea, candies, lemon-scented air fresheners, shampoo and even soap.
Meanwhile, initial orders for Eming lemon juice drink suggest the need to go on a commercial scale, according to Cobaldez. When that day comes, what can prevent the farmers to green the rolling hills and mountain slopes in Mountain Province with lemon?, he mused. Robert Domoguen |
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