THE Island Garden City of Samal (Igacos) is known for its beaches, pristine waters and white sand. But around 2013, this city in Davao del Norte was groomed to be an island of sweet mangoes.
Dece Bisnar-Uy and her mother, Amarilys Bisnar, were among the mango farmers who took the challenge of establishing the brand for the city with Mango Island, their line of processed mango products.
Mango Island started in 2017 when the Samal Island’s city tourism office encouraged mango farmers to produce value-added products out of their mangoes to be displayed during the Kadagayaan Festival celebration.
Amarylis, who was then the chair of the Samal Island Mango Marketing Cooperative (Simmco), accepted the challenge and asked her daughter to innovate.
Uy, who was pregnant with her youngest son and had been craving for hot and spicy food, introduced to her mother the idea of a mango chili sauce. Amarylis, though hesitant, gave it a go along with jams and purees.
She said the products gained a favorable reception at the festival but not from the members of the cooperative to whom they pitched the concept.
“Nobody was interested,” she said.
Since there were no other farmers processing mangoes on the island, the Department of Trade and Industry in Davao del Norte (DTI-Davao del Norte) and the City Tourism Office of Samal urged her and her mother to continue the concept and build a brand.
Most of the farmers primed their mangoes for export but the Bisnars, who owned more than 800 mango trees in their farms in Talicud and Peñaplata, are more concerned with the “below quality” mangoes or those that did not meet the standard weight for export.
Uy said below quality mangoes are still bought by buyers but for as low as P5 to P10 per kilogram (kg) and to ramp up its value, they bottle these mangoes as jams, puree, and chili sauce.
She bared that on a good harvest, about 10 to 15 percent of the mangoes will not meet the required weight.
“Let’s say you have 50,000 kilos of mangoes and 10 percent of it is 5,000 kilos. Daghan na kaayog bottles mabuhat ana whereas if you sell it for P5 per kilo, pila ra ang abot?,” she said.
(You can make more bottles from it compared to the income you get for P5 per kilo.)
She added some farmers often give them free rather than selling it to the market because it would incur more costs such as transportation.
The business grew as the government agencies helped them promote their products in trade fairs and in the city’s pasalubong center and provided the needed skills training.
It further gained momentum when a mothers’ support group in Davao City with 10,000 members where she belonged promoted her product in their huge events.
Despite the attention her product is getting, she admitted they still struggled with capital expenses especially for the necessary certifications to fulfill her vision.
“Gusto mi makatabang sa mga gagmay farmers sa Samal nga at least katong below quality, mahatagan og additional value kay dili lang baya kami ang farmer dinha. Basi diay in the future, pag dako na ang company, kami na ang mukuha sa below quality [mangoes] at a reasonable price,” Dece said.
(We want to help our fellow farmers add value to their below quality mangoes. When the company grows, we will buy their mangoes at a reasonable price.)
She said she also wanted to export and eyed to be certified with Halal and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP). She is currently working on her Food and Drug Administration (FDA) certificate.
“We want to introduce Samal mango to the world. At least, everybody can have a taste of mango in Samal,” she said.
For now, she processes her mango products in their residence in Buhangin in Davao City and delivers it to her customers who ordered online, aside from joining bazaars.