The sweet taste of success

MANILA, Philippines – Lito Arenas finished a nursing course several decades ago, but he decided instead to pursue a path that he had grown familiar with in Manaoag, Pangasinan: raising mangoes.

He did not regret his decision one bit. He is now one of the biggest suppliers of mangoes in the Philippines.

Lito’s story has become a favorite anecdote of Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap who often relates it whenever he is among aspiring entrepreneurs and students.

As a young boy, Lito was tasked odd jobs at his father’s farm, such as cutting grasses, picking and cleaning mangoes, and tending their fruit stall at the Manaoag public market in the afternoons after school.

He became so comfortable with what he was doing that when he graduated from college he decided to engage in mango farming, trading and processing, instead of pursuing a nursing career.

As in the case of many successful businessmen, Lito started small with an initial capital of only P2,500 which he used to buy and sell mangoes.

From trading, he decided to grow mangoes himself. He went all the way to Batac, Ilocos Norte in search of the best mango planting materials for his three-hectare farm in Manaoag.

As expected, he had his share of hardships such as high cost of fertilizers and other inputs. Fortunately, he had financial support from creditors endorsed by the Department of Agriculture.

“Nandyan po ang DA, mula simula hanggang ngayon,”  said Lito. “Napakarami na ang naitulong nila sa amin, lalo na pagdating sa mga training.” (There was the DA right from the start and until now. They have provided so much help particularly in terms of training.)

He said he had to sit through several days of training to satisfy his thirst for knowing modern, cost-efficient and high-yield mango farming and processing technologies. Such training gave him the confidence to make his Manaoag mango farm productive, as well as five others under a contract-growing scheme, in nearby towns of Binalonan, Villasis, Sta. Barbara and Bolinao.

A few years ago, with his earnings he was able to put up a processing facility that churns out dried mangoes for domestic and export markets. The facility provides decent jobs to 200 Manaoag residents.

Now, he and wife Ching are also into producing mango seedlings, in partnership with the DA’s Bureau of Plant Industry and UPLB’s Institute of Plant Breeding.

“Ako po ay BPI-certified producer na rin ng grafted mango seedlings,” he beams. (I am a certified producer of grafted mango seedlings.)

He simply makes use of the mango seeds, whose flesh are sliced off and dried for both domestic and export markets. Thus, the mango seedling and nursery enterprise does not only provide him additional income, but also employment to townmates, and at the same time recycles the seeds into productive trees once again.

“Kaya marami rin akong natutulungan,” he points out. “Masuwerte kami dahil nabigyan kami ng mga gamit pang-process. “ (We are able to help many. We are lucky because we were given facilities for processing.)

Indeed, luck has shone on him and his neighbors as they were provided with two units of drying machines by the DA’s Bureau of Agricultural Research.

“Ngayon maliban sa dried mangoes, meron na rin kaming pickled mangoes with tamarind at saka pickled papayas,” he adds. (Aside from dried mangos, we produce pickled mangos with tamarind and also pickled papayas.)

And there is no stopping Lito, as he was again granted by the DA another post harvest facility called ‘extended hot water treatment’ or EHWT that is used to ensure that fresh mangoes are free from fruit flies and other pests and diseases. With the facility, he looks forward to exporting fresh mangoes to Hong Kong and China.

But even with his accomplishments, Lito freely and graciously shares his knowledge and expertise to his neighbors wanting to follow his footsteps. – DA Information Service