Status and Prospects of Fruit Production in Ilocos Sur

Abstract

This study was conceived to determine the status and prospects of fruit production in the province of Ilocos Sur.
Specifically, this study aimed to identify the varieties of fruit-bearing plants grown in the different municipalities of Ilocos Sur; assess the market potential of these fruits; determine the common problems encountered by the growers and their suggestions to surmount these problems; and identify the kind of support provided by the government and the private sector. The descriptive survey method was used. A questionnaire checklist was utilized
to gather data from the respondents randomly selected from nine interior municipalities and seven lowland municipalities in Ilocos Sur. The study revealed that there were more male than female respondents. Most of them were married, belonged to the age bracket of 31-40 and 51-60, had five to six household members, and had a monthly income of P1,000 & below. Aside from fruit venture, other sources of income were: farming, animal raising and working as barangay officials. The average monthly income of household members was P5,000 and below. The fruit-bearing plants grown in Ilocos Sur were: banana, calamansi, native mango, pineapple, avocado, rambutan, papaya, coconut, siniguelas, jackfruit, guava, Indian mango, chico, guayubano, atis, camachili, santol, orange, kasoy, starapple, tamarind, pomelo, and blackberry. The fruit growers were engaged in this venture mainly to earn additional income. They sold thefruits either on wholesale or retail in thefollowing: local market, neighborhood, nearby towns/provinces, other regions, and for export. The respondents assessed the price of their products to be "fair" (45.79%), "break even" (43.16%) or "low" (36.84%). The JO most profitable fruit business ventures in terms of income derived were ranked as follows: mango, grapes, rambutan, kasoy, banana, calamansi, pineapple, coconut, and avocado. Most of the respondents claimed that their fruit business venture was self financed; however, they received minimal financial support from cooperatives, from the government which provided technology and seedlings, and from the private sector which provided fertilizer and insecticides. Seminars were given to them by the Department of Agriculture as technical assistance. The most common problems encountered by the fruit growers were lack of water supply, low price during peak of harvest, lack of technical know-how on fruit tree propagation, and lack of capital. To solve their problems most respondents suggested the following: in planting there should be a project on water system, seminar on propagating fruit-bearing plants and pest disease control, and more seedlings for sale at low price; in marketing - improved transportation facilities, full support from the government, and improved farm to market roads during the peak of harvest; on technical problems - seminar on food preservation, assistance from agricultural technologists, training on crop protection, more trainings sponsored by experts, and discovery of effective pest and disease control; and on financial problems - loans with low or no interest, financial assistance from the government, seed capital for cooperatives, and extension of loan/ bank services to the barangays.