CAMIGUIN , Philippines – To ensure that the island-province’s fruit will be duly recognized, the local government has ordered that the lanzones going out of Camiguin will be put in boxes marked with the point of its origin.
Camiguin is celebrating its month-long 39th Lanzones Festival with a host of activities, including the street dancing competition, one of the most attended events, on Saturday, Oct. 27.
Known for its distinctly sweet lanzones due to the volcanic soil, the fruit is sold not just in Mindanao but all throughout the country.
Starting this year, the boxes of the fruit that will be shipped out will be marked as “Camiguin Lanzones.”
“Each lanzones that goes out of the island will be in a box that bears the Camiguin island brand, this is to make our lanzones stand out [from the rest,” said Mambajao town mayor and former governor Jurdin Jesus Romualdo.
He said the branding will help Camiguin maximize the market potential of lanzones.
Prior to the festival, truckloads of lanzones were transported to other parts of the country inside 10-kilogram and 21-kilogram boxes showing the shape of the island with the words “Camiguin Lanzones.”
Now on its 39th year, the Lanzones Festival stemmed from the celebration of bountiful harvest of the fruit which is in abundance in Camiguin.
The Camiguin-grown lanzones tastes sweeter, said Engr. Renero Torion, the provincial agriculturist, due the island’s volcanic soil.
About 2,000 hectares of land, mostly on the island’s elevated areas near and around its 13 volcanoes, are planted with lanzones.
Romualdo said the decision to mark its lanzones followed the provincial government decided to increase its production output through macrosomatic cloning done by the Provincial Agriculture Office.
Camiguin has also been successful in crossbreeding a new lanzones variety called “camlong” (from Camiguin and Longkong) which is the island is promoting alongside the native variety.
One of the highlights of the Lanzones Festival is the street dancing competition where contingents from the province’s five towns participate. The competition depicts the folklore surrounding the abundance of lanzones.
This year’s festival theme is “Kinaiyahan atong Ampingan, Kalamboan alang sa Tanan” (care for resources, development for all).(davaotoday.com)
