Rejected bananas are still money earners
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GENERAL SANTOS CITY - "Rejects" or cavendish bananas in T'boli, South Cotabato that do not pass export quality standards are still money earners: they are sold to local traders as ingredient for making animal feeds.Winnie Osorio, community relations and development officer of the Upland Banana Corp. said it is the policy of the firm that "bananas not suited for export shall not be disposed in the local markets for consumption of the people (because we don't want to compete with local producers).
Upland Banana is under the Davao-City-based AJMR Group, which is headed by Alberto M. Soriano. In 2004, Japanese firm Sumifru Corp poured investments of about P2.1 billion for AJMR's expansion.
Upland Banana's products are marketed in Japan by AJMR, the third biggest banana producer in the Philippines.
Osorio said T'bolis, the natives of the area, are earning additional money by chopping the rejected bananas for drying. The dried bananas are then used as feed ingredient.
"Our only concern is that these reject bananas provide additional livelihoods to the (T'bolis). There are at least 12 barangays in the town that serve as buying and chopping stations of rejects," he said.
Just two years in operations, Upland Banana is now employing some 3,800 workers, most of them T'bolis. The firm has planted bananas in at least 1,700 hectares out of its 3,000 hectare-development area.
Osorio said the company is working with the local government unit to strengthen the economic capacities of the town's households.
As part of empowering the T'bolis' economic lot, he said, the company has put up a vegetable seed production center for free distribution to the communities.
Dominador Siloterio, the town's information officer, said the company is coordinating with the local government unit for its social responsibility program.
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Comments
Are there relative issues when it comes to recycling rejected bananas
Written by honduras on Nov 23, 2007 09:24 PM
What is the legitimate process Upland Banana Corporation employed to ensure that the rejected bananas are benefited by many of the natives.. Lets say, if harvested bananas failed to pass the standard... what's the next process....
Written by on Nov 23, 2007 09:25 PM
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