Fruit bounty inspires festival

20.05.12

SILANG, Cavite—Santol, Kaong and Bayabasan are names not simply plucked out of nowhere for some villages in Silang, Cavite, but these attest to the abundance of fruits, as well as vegetables, in a town naturally blessed with lush greenery, rich volcanic soil and cool climate.

Farmers have long enjoyed the bounty of locally grown coconut, corn, banana, pineapple, mango, lanzones and other fruits. “When you ask vendors in Divisoria (in Manila), they’d tell you that fruits are sweet and delicious if they come from Silang,� said Merlinda Samuel-Sualibios, 49, a physician-turned-trader whose family owns a farm.

Although popularly known for its luscious produce, Silang has never formally claimed to be a major producer of fruits being exported to Manila and other provinces. Recognized as a first-class municipality (annual income: over P55 million), it is still considered an agricultural town with 30-40 percent of its population engaged in farming.

In recent years and as a result of industrialization and land conversions, “people, specially the younger generations, seemed to have lost interest in agriculture,� Sualibios said.

Source: Inquirer.net