‘Verde que te quiero verde’

"Verde que te quiero verde" to borrow a poetic line from Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca – and productive, too, best described the promise to himself by noted pomologist Bernie Dizon 14 years ago to turn a barren field at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Protected Areas and Wildlife (DENR-PAWB) at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center into a productive orchard.

Today, here in the heart of Quezon City at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Nature Center, Dizon maintains a learning center – DENR-PAWB-Dizon Botanical Fruit Garden – where he conducts on Sundays seminars and technology demonstrations for free to the public with participants, fruit enthusiasts and businessmen, from across the country in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. All around the center are fruit trees such as durian, rambutan, lychee, mangosteen, longkong, mangoes and many other exotic fruit plants and multi-rootstocked seedlings.

On June 28, 1991, Dizon signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to develop a piece of land into a lush forest of fruit trees. Then DENR Secretary Fulgencio S. Factoran provided Dizon with 500 square meters of barren, waterlogged area at the DENR’s Protected Areas and Wildlife Center at the Elliptical Road and North Avenue in Quezon City, across the Quezon Memorial Center.

The MOA gave him 4,000 square meters (the 3,500 square meters would be given later after the initial piece of land have been planted to fruit trees) and require him to:

1) Establish, maintain, and operate a demonstration garden that will serve as a showcase of multiple rootstock techniques for mangoes (Millennium, Golden Queen, Chokonan and Guimaras) chico varieties, mangosteen, rambutan, longkong, duku lanzones, lychee, longan, apple makopa, Magallanes pummelo and many other exotic fruit trees.

2) The garden should show farmers, orchard owners, backyard owners and businessmen that traditional mangoes and non-traditional fruit trees (lychee, orange, rambutan, durian, pummelo) and many others are dollar savers and even dollar earners.

For successfully pursuing his part of the MOA, the next DENR Secretary, Victor O. Ramos with the comment "excellent work" approved an additional 1,500 square meters for Dizon’s project on June 1998. On Sept. 25, 2002 then DENR Heherson T. Alvarez added another 2,000 square meters for the present size of 4,000 square meters.

There is no secret to the success of Bernie Dizon; hardwork, expertise and selfless fixation with fruit trees and convincing power with entrepreneurs to plant more orchards with demonstration.

This was shown when he was ordered ejected by the University of Philippines at the UP Bliss Compound on the vicinity of what is now called Philcoa. He brought the case to court. The Presiding Judge Elsie Ligot Telan held that:

"At the ocular inspection today (August 20, 1991) we found the value of fruit trees planted by petitioner (Bernardo O. Dizon) in the area in question. As the plants could constitute an import contribution to agricultural education, the court advised the plaintiff to request the proper government authorities to make representation with respondent for possible preservation of the area or the scientific transplanting of the trees in a new area."

Victor Lazatin, on Dizon’s behalf, wrote a request to the DER and the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) for the transfer of the fruit tree research and technology at the UP Bliss to its present location.

There are many fruit tree enthusiasts who have only words of praise for Dizon:

(1) Sen. Angara (former agriculture secretary): "Dizon offers a variety of techniques of fruit tree cultivation for farmers and government authorities to consider getting into large-scale culture of high value fruit trees, a potential dollar-earner. I have been using his technology and planting materials in my orchard since 1988!."

(2) SMC chairman Danding Cojuangco Jr.: "I employed Mr. Dizon as consultant in developing my 5,000 hectares of fruit farm in Negros Occidental from December 1992 to October 1994!"

(3) Vice President Noli de Castro: I use Dizon’s technology and planting materials as I feature them in my ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol and DZMM’s Magandang Umaga Bayan!"

(4) Dr. Vinai Klajring of Thailand’s King Mongkrut Institute of Technology (an alumnus of CLSU): Dizon’s techno-demo farms has limited space (1.4 hectares) but it is very rich in fr uit propagation and plant varieties. If only Dizon is in Thailand, he would be very rich by now. With his breakthroughs, he would be honored by the King of Thailand and will be fully supported financially and Morally!"

(5) Former DENR Secretary Victor Ramos: "Congratulations for excellent work!!"