By Marie Tonette Marticio
ORMOC City - Mayor Richard Gomez said the city cannot grow enough sweet queen pineapples to supply the rising demand for the fruit in Metro Manila.
Ormoc Mayor Richard Gomez
(Ormoc City Government official Facebook page / MANILA BULLETIN) "Dito pa lang sa Leyte and Cebu nauubos na ang supply ng pineapples ng Ormoc. Ang hirap kasi magproduce ng pineapples because it takes about 15 months from planting to harvest," Gomez said. At least two hectares of pineapples are harvested daily. In the SAL Pineapple Plantation alone, over 2,000 pineapples are harvested each day. The 210-hectare plantation in Barangay Hibunawon grows pineapples exclusively. Gomez attributed the lack of supply to the Department of Agrarian Reform's distribution of lands under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL). "Marami kasing problema kagaya ng agrarian reform. Patuloy pa rin ang pagdidistribute nila ng lupa so yung mga big-scale farmers nauubos din yung lupa nila dahil kinukuha ng DAR," he said. Gomez called the government’s land distribution program regressive and said it must be stopped. "Dapat itigil na nila. They should stop it. It's not progressive... As mayor, nakikita ko yung mga dinistribute na lupa dito hindi naman talaga nagagamit ng mabuti. Why continue a program that is a failure," he said. Ormoc's queen pineapple is a dwarf, rough and thorny variety, yet sweet and succulent on the inside. It is best eaten fresh than canned. Only recently, the city held its third Piña Festival featuring the queen pineapple.
Ormoc Mayor Richard Gomez(Ormoc City Government official Facebook page / MANILA BULLETIN) "Dito pa lang sa Leyte and Cebu nauubos na ang supply ng pineapples ng Ormoc. Ang hirap kasi magproduce ng pineapples because it takes about 15 months from planting to harvest," Gomez said. At least two hectares of pineapples are harvested daily. In the SAL Pineapple Plantation alone, over 2,000 pineapples are harvested each day. The 210-hectare plantation in Barangay Hibunawon grows pineapples exclusively. Gomez attributed the lack of supply to the Department of Agrarian Reform's distribution of lands under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL). "Marami kasing problema kagaya ng agrarian reform. Patuloy pa rin ang pagdidistribute nila ng lupa so yung mga big-scale farmers nauubos din yung lupa nila dahil kinukuha ng DAR," he said. Gomez called the government’s land distribution program regressive and said it must be stopped. "Dapat itigil na nila. They should stop it. It's not progressive... As mayor, nakikita ko yung mga dinistribute na lupa dito hindi naman talaga nagagamit ng mabuti. Why continue a program that is a failure," he said. Ormoc's queen pineapple is a dwarf, rough and thorny variety, yet sweet and succulent on the inside. It is best eaten fresh than canned. Only recently, the city held its third Piña Festival featuring the queen pineapple.