Strawberry Farm: 40 Hectares of Hardship and Joy for Farmers

By Johnny Fialen
Nordis
Translated and posted by Bulatlat.com

The strawberry farm in La Trinidad, Benguet is one of the Cordillera spots most frequently visited by foreign and local tourists. It is here where one can buy fresh strawberries that can be eaten right after washing, or that make good gifts to your loved ones.

According to Manong (brother) George Manuel, 42, a strawberry farmer for six years now, the land he tills is owned by the Benguet State University (BSU) and is rented out to him at P10 every square meter.

Strawberry prices are up from October to December because only a few strawberry bushes bear fruit in these months. They get more expensive when tourists themselves come here to pick them. The price is almost double in the market because these are fresh that buyers can really choose.

“Growing strawberries is really difficult because it is like taking care of a child,” Manong George says. “You have to water them every morning and afternoon, you always have to clean the areas around them which also have to be fertilized and sprayed with insecticides so the fruits would not be damaged.”

Pedro Montero, 47, a strawberry farmer for 27 years now, says “The best thing to do to get good strawberries is to grow them on soil with compost so they would bear many, really large fruits, because the old ones bear only small fruits which rot easily.

“In 1976, the rent was only P2 per square meter, but now it’s higher, it’s now P10. There are more than 200 of us who rent this vast BSU land which is more than 40 hectares big, so they also earn a lot from us,” Manong Pedring reveals.

“There are many kinds of strawberries: the Argentina, Shoga, Japanese strawberry, siskip, toyonoka, aliso, Rosalinda, and the sweet cherry. The best variety is still the Shoga which is the one we have long been growing because its fruit is big and the sweetest of all, while the others bear only small fruits which are sour,” he explains further.

“In my 27 years of planting experience, I spend P25-30 thousand for everything, including the fertilizers and insecticides. Strawberries are far better than vegetables because usually, vegetable farmers are losers as their prices are always down. Strawberries, even if not in the peak season, still cost P40-50 per kilo, so you can get back in eight months what you spent and earn a little besides.

“From Friday to Sunday many people visit the strawberry farm to buy, so on those days no one sprays so as not to ruin the business. Because if even one of us sprays, we all get ruined,” Manong Pedring adds.

The BSU has also conducted several training sessions for farmers, and these have helped greatly because they learn a lot from these: from the correct way to care for strawberries to marketing these.

“We are thankful and hopeful that they would continue imparting knowledge to us, especially the uneducated among us.” Translated and posted by Bulatlat.com

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