Fascination turns into a thriving business venture

PARANG, Maguindanao – What started as a mere fascination by members of a Muslim family to see assorted fruit trees in their surroundings soon became a thriving business venture that turned an idle 40-hectare portion of land into Maguindanao’s pioneer commercial durian plantation.

Other Muslim landowners in the province are now duplicating this now model durian farm, convinced it is a profitable venture.

Although it has a smell often described as "very disagreeable," durian (Durio Zibethinus), a spiny evergreen tropical fruit which has a buttery pulp is widely propagated now in the Davao provinces, North Cotabato, parts of the South Cotabato-Sarangani-Gen. Santos City (Socsargen) area, but not in Maguindanao.

Datu Ponga Usman, 66, who pioneered durian farming in the province, said his durian venture started as a hobby some 15 years ago when he planted a few grafted durian seedlings in the surroundings of his farm house.

Usman said his only objective then was for his children and grandchildren to have something to harvest and feast on during the durian season.

But even before his first durian trees could bear fruit, Usman decided to plant more durian trees after having toured several farms in Thailand and Malaysia.

From the initial earnings of his durian farm, Usman bought a Toyota 4x4 pickup truck and a light hauler truck which they now use in their operations.

The Usman family subsequently established the first backyard durian processing project in the province, now an envy of other Muslim landowners in surrounding towns.

"Our durian spread is much better than those sold in Davao City because we don’t use extenders such as starch and other substitutes, we only use pure durian pulp," Usman said.

Usman said for five years now, he has been providing Muslim farmers free tips on how to earn more by propagating durian.

There are five varieties — three of them imported from nearby Asian countries — of durian that can be found in Usman’s farm now.

"We also have the native variety, the one endemic to Southern Mindanao, because it has a distinct taste which is really different from the rest," Usman said.

Usman said the government should focus on helping farmers here and nearby towns, including those in the nearby Camp Abubakar, the former bastion of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, to plant durian in their rice and corn farms.

"When their durian trees start to bear fruit, their income will increase and they will have enough money to sustain the schooling of their children. It is a known fact that illiteracy and underdevelopment are the factors condoning the peace and order problems in most Muslim communities in Maguindanao," Usman said.

Usman’s daughter, Bai Lyn, said they now have plans of projecting, through their product names and labels, the identity of the indigenous Iranon and Maguindanaon cultures and farming practices to help improve the image of this town as an emerging, peaceful durian country.