I, Farm Boy! Abuyog Sweet Jackfruit Grows Well In Highlands

After a visit to the riverside village of Layog, Pagalungan, Maguindanao yesterday, I took a 4-hour land trip through Lanao del Sur to go to Miarayon, Talakag, Bukidnon to check on the performance of the Abuyog Sweet Jackfruit seedlings, also known as EVIARC Sweet, which were planted at 1,400-meters above-sea-leavel (MASL).

It rained all throughout the long trip and it was cold when I reached the farm which I and tribal farmer-leader Ryan Danio are developing for experimental agricultural projects.

I was very pleased with what I saw because the first 100 Abuyog Sweet Jackfruit Seedlings which were planted in the area were growing very well.

(Unfortunately, 30 of the seedlings were chomped off by the Boer goats which we are also raising in the farm.)

The leaves appeared lush and the seedlings were growing sprouts profusely with just chicken dung as basal fertilizer which means that they have acclimatized to the very high elevation and the cold climate of the mountains.

This is a very significant development because I have long been looking for high value fruit trees which could be introduced in the highlands as part of the Green Mindanao Program which aims to convince tribal communities who own vast areas in the high-elevation areas of Mindanao to plant fruit trees.

I initially planted several Hass Avocado seedlings in the same area but the performance is not very encouraging as they showed very slow growth at 1,400-MASL.

So, we will be planting more EVIARC Sweet Jackfruit seedlings which are propagated through the Inarching Method in my nursery in Barangay Paco, Kidapawan City.

Hopefully, three or four years from now, Miarayon, a mountain village where farmers grow a lot of vegetables would also be known as the Land of the Sweetest Jackfruit in the Philippines.

That would also be the start of the realization of my dream of turning the bald highlands of Mindanao into green production areas of high value fruits which could address the poverty of the tribal people and those living in the mountains of the island.

#KungGustoMaramingParaan!

#GovernanceIsCommonSense!

(Video footage taken by Kimberly Joy Sarino, MinDA OC.)

https://fb.watch/aAJ7ZsTXOD/