January 16, 2025

Emmanuel "Manny" F. Piñol

Official Website

2-year journey! Sweet Strawberry Variety Now in Bukidnon Highlands

Manny Piñol October 16, 2020 2 min read
Miarayon, Talakag, Bukidnon – A little over two years since I brought in a dozen runners, a variety of Sweet Strawberry from South Korea now grows in these cold highlands of Mindanao.
How this new variety of strawberry travelled this far is a story of a farmer’s resourcefulness and patience.
In June 2018, I travelled to Seoul, South Korea as member of the delegation of President Rody Duterte in an official visit.
As Secretary of Agriculture, several side activities were scheduled for me, including a visit to a fully-automated Smart Greenhouse which grew strawberries, among others.
We were allowed to pick some fruits and when I tasted that they were sweet, I asked the Korean officers if we could take some runners.
After harvesting some runners with the help of DA officials who were with me, I called the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) in Manila for SPIS documents to bring home the planting materials.
Personnel of BPI Cordillera were instructed to meet me at the Manila Airport so the runners could be rushed to Baguio City for propagation.
Unknown to me and to my amusement, Igorot farmers who grew and propagated it, named the strawberry variety Sweet Emmanuel.
Last month, during a trip to Manila, I asked my friends from Baguio to bring down runners which I planned to plant in Miarayon with an elevation of 1,440 meters above sea level.
Arriving in the Port of Lipata, Surigao del Norte, the runners from Baguio City were picked up by a team which rushed these to Talakag.
On Wednesday, I visited the farm of Talaandig farmer-leader Ryan Danio to check on the strawberries.
My heart was filled with joy when I saw that the strawberries were flowering.
I, however, instructed him to change the name of the Strawberry variety from Sweet Emmanuel to South Korea Sweet (SKS) to honor the people of the country who generously shared the planting materials.
From Ryan’s farm, runners from the SKS Strawberry variety will soon be shared with other farmers to be grown in the highlands of Mindanao.
When that happens, the journey of the SKS runners would be complete.
#KungGustoMaramingParaan!
#FarmingIsCommonSense!
#TouchGroundFeelThePulse!
#WalkAnExtraKilometer!
(This video was taken by Mayette Tudlas, MinDA OC.)
https://fb.watch/aMGrduxT4y/

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