Earning P35,000 Weekly from Malunggay
In 1972, when the Green Revolution was just beginning, Antonio Solima, now 69, bought a 1.3-hectare wasteland along the coast of the China Sea not really knowing that the land would be a virtual “goldmine”. The only vegetation seen in the area was what the locals call kandaroma, a bushy evergreen plant with lots of thorny, intertwining branches which usually grows along the coastline.
For this reason, it was very unlikely for a person in the right mind to invest even P0.22 per square meter for this kind of land 35 years ago, but. Antonio proceeded anyway to make a gamble with his P3,000 savings. Since all he wanted then was to own a land.
Antonio cleared the land and it took him a year because he had a hard time cutting kandaroma plants because he was often bruised by its thorns.
He burned the trimmings and soon after some portions were already cleared, he started to plant malunggay, which he saw was growing well in the backyards of other residents. His grandfather also had some trees which served as his sources of planting materials.
50 TREES FOR A START
He planted only 50 trees in the first year because there were not much malunggay stems that he could get from his grandfather. The initial 50 trees started producing some pods the following year and Antonio’s wife, Flora, sold these at the town’s public market. Ilocanos consider malunggay pods as a very delicious food, but most Filipinos consume only the leaves because they don’t know that the pods can be cooked with bagoong, tomato, and ground beef or pork or roast fish.
When Antonio started to harvest his crop in 1973, the farmgate price of malunggay pods was PO.SD apiece, and that time, it was already considered a good price. Although he was not earning much, he was encouraged to continue planting, hoping that someday, his income would eventually increase if he would plant more malunggay trees.
Through hard work and determination, he planted more and more trees year after year until he planted almost the whole land with malunggay trees. Except for small patches he planted with okra, calamansi, and sitao, and an area where he and his children built their houses, the rest of the land was used for malunggay cultivation.
The six tamarind saplings that he spared when he was clearing the area are now fully grown around those houses. From the tamarind trees, Antonio earns at least P20,000 from their fruits in May. The buyers, who are market vendors, harvest the fruits themselves and, hence, Antonio does not spend anything for harvesting.
INCREASING HARVEST
Antonio’s ihcome from malunggay pods has also been increasing because his harvest has been increasing, too.
Flora soon found herself bringing pods to the Laoag City public market because local consumers could no longer consume all of it.
Flora relates that she was paying an entreda, an entrance fee to sell in the market at the start. But, the market manager in Laoag City soon demanded that she should get a marketing license worth almost P1,000 every six months because of the large number of pods that she was selling. At that time, she was bringing as many as 6,000 pods every time she went to Laoag City. The selling price then was only P60 for every 100 pods and their gross income per harvest was P3,600. And since they were harvesting twice a week, they were earning P7,200 weekly.
The market manager thought Flora was a middleman, but she insisted that the pods were her own produce.
The market manager, however, still doubted hef and insisted that she had to get a marketing license before she could sell malunggay pods in Laoag again. He doubted Flora because as far as he knew, nobody in the Ilocos ever planted 1,000 square meters with malunggay. Normally, malunggay trees are just planted as part of the perimeter boundary or as a fence. A household may have as many as 20 to 40 trees, but not thousands.
Fortunately, somebody who knew Flora well and happened to have a stall at the vegetables section of the public market, explained to the market manager in her behalf that the pods were really her own produce.
Flora was bringing their harvest to the Laoag City public market twice a week until middlemen started doing business with her in the mid-’80s. While middlemen still bring some pods to Laoag City, a bigger chunk of the harvest is brought to distant places like Cagayan, Isabela, Tarlac, and Urdaneta City.
14,000 PODS A WEEK
Today, Antonio harvests no less than 7,000 pods per harvest or 14,000 pods a week during the peak period. A small bundle with 10 pods now costs P25. This means that with two harvests a week, their weekly gross income is now no less P35,000.
Antonio, however, has to hire two to three workers to help him harvest the pods. Each worker is paid P 100 a day and they are also given snacks and lunch. Harvesting starts at seven until 11 o’clock in the morning and then resumes at 2 to 5 o’clock in the afternoon. During lunch break, the workers sort the pods and make small bundles.
Harvesting starts in mid-November and winds up in May if heavy rains begin to pour, as malunggay does not like too much water; its leaves drop when the roots get soaked continuously in water. Moreover, pods produced during the rainy season are bitter and, hence, not palatable
Antonio and Flora said their children would not have had college degrees if not for their malunggay trees. Two finished radio communication operation, two graduated courses on marine science and technology, and one studied computer technology and now works in a construction firm.
The youngest child, a girl, finished the BS in Nursing from the University of Northern Philippines in Vigan City and was reviewing for the nursing licensure examination when we visited the farm. With the current high cost of nursing education, Flora said it would have been extremely difficult for them to send their daughter to nursing school without their income from malunggay.
WIDER PLANTING
Five years ago, an enterprising couple in the barangay who work at the local municipal government decided to follow Antonio’s example. Carmelo and Lourdes Azcueta, realized that venturing in wide-scale planting of malunggay and integrated farming, their lives would be much better than just being lowly paid government employees.
Lourdes, a municipal treasurer, said they started planting malunggay in 2002. They intercropped it with vegetables, following a wide distance of planting. The couple later decided to follow a planting distance of 1 to 1.5 meters between trees. They had to hire farm workers to take care of the plants and pigs because they have to attend to their work in the local government from Monday to Friday. They now have seven laborers planting. replanting, weeding, harvesting, and attending to the pigs for them.
Unlike Antonio, Carmelo and Lourdes make sure that their plantation is free from weeds and replant immediately whenever planting materials are not successfully established. Not much input is needed to maintain the trees since fertilization and irrigation are not required. In fact, malunggay loves the long hot summer in Ilocos, the time when these continuously flower and produce pods.
Today, Carmelo and Lourdes already have more than 2,000 pod-bearing malunggay trees and yet they still continue to plant more whenever possible. Lourdes said the trees must have abundant sunlight to be productive. The big trees now bear around 400 pods each per season. They harvest four times a week, and they make sure no less than 4,000 pods are harvested on Saturdays.
“You can surely have a good life with malunggay if you take care of the plants very well,” Lourdes said.
Because of the success of the Solimas and Azcuetas, other residents of Barangay Salapasap have started to plant more malunggay trees in small scale. They, too, have realized that there is money in malunggay cultivation.
So, what are you waiting for? If you have a well-drained land which is not very productive, you may as well start planting malunggay.
Popularity: 27%
Popularity: 27%
December 14th, 2008 at 3:56 am
December 15th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
February 5th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
I wonder if we can delay the “falling” of the leaves.
February 28th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
May 17th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
May 18th, 2009 at 5:14 am
Philipp L. Corro
June 7th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
You can email us at above e-address(asiasogo@yahoo.com)
Thanks
July 31st, 2009 at 5:23 am
im ronnel ganzon from the university of bohol and im a fourth year accountancy student.
currently we have a business research particularly a marketing study on the commercial value of moringa. as of now, we are looking for possible buyers of moringa but unfortunately we cant find anyone. thats why i would like to ask your help sir if you have some contacts. we just want to know those people, the volume they want to buy and what part of malunggay do they want.
i am very grateful sir if you could help us, this is for the success of our marketing study.
thank you and more power!
P.S. my cellphone no. is 09072780221
and e-mail add: rogan_1121@yahoo.com
August 4th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
August 23rd, 2009 at 8:41 pm
I’m also looking for BUYERS of Malunggay Powder and other crops-dried or fresh.
Contact me at 09212618668 , (043)9806908 / 7230595 / 7230706 / 7584317 or email at levilopez@consultant.com
Best Regards,
Levi L. Lopez
August 24th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
we are moringa planter in mindanao. we are looking for buyer for dired moringa leaf and stalk. if interested pls contact us c/o russell 09109242315 or redworker_03@yahoomail.com
russ
September 25th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
November 7th, 2009 at 1:18 am
November 27th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
my contact nos. 0923 313 4988 (sun) kanalocoir@gmail.com (email)
December 10th, 2009 at 7:19 am
January 5th, 2010 at 11:54 am
I have more than 1 hectar empty land, will try this out for a starter. thanks alot.
January 27th, 2010 at 6:53 am
my contact(s) 09159954997 / bless_melord26@yahoo.com
January 28th, 2010 at 1:59 am
I’m interested on Malunggay farm plantation, can you give me assitance to start with it and where can I find possible customers in the area of bulacan or mindoro?
Thanks!
February 3rd, 2010 at 9:36 pm
February 4th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
Danny Manayaga
Secura International Corp.
February 4th, 2010 at 8:35 pm
February 4th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
is there any one out there who could help us make earnings out of our malunggay here in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.
our plants are just being asked for gratis by community residents.
is there a buyer in Zamboanga City?
February 9th, 2010 at 3:40 am
February 11th, 2010 at 9:17 am
Secura International Corp.
Good day sir, hanggang kailan ba kayo mangangailangan ng ganitong seeds sir? its a huge! im willing to trade and convert my land if it is constantly needed… and maybe making FS for this kind of business.
February 11th, 2010 at 9:18 am
February 12th, 2010 at 1:55 am
Danny
February 15th, 2010 at 3:27 am
February 15th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
im from Davao im interested sa pagtanim na malungay,can u help me where to get any planting materials or any kind of malungay ba will do,at san ba ang market dito sa davao?thanks and more power.just email me.merr_1125@yahoo.com
February 17th, 2010 at 4:24 am
Saan po ba tayo makapag seminar sa ganitong business? kasi gusto kong malaman ang process kung paano, and the scheme… taga samar po kami, ang Samar ba ay pweding mag supply sayo?
BeNch
February 17th, 2010 at 4:19 pm
We will be producing Tissue Cultured Malunggay seedlings beginning this June. For those who are interested please book your orders now, our production capacity is 100,000 seedlings per month. If you have access to seeds or seedlings in your area please use them. There are enough information available in the internet to guide you in this business. Most important that a sustainable market is available now , and our needs will stay forever.We buy malunggay seeds anywhere in the country,you can start just 1 hectare. Now is the right time to plant,even with El Nino.
Danny
February 17th, 2010 at 6:55 pm
February 17th, 2010 at 7:21 pm
February 17th, 2010 at 9:56 pm
February 19th, 2010 at 2:58 am
Thank You
http://www.facebook.com/phillipinerealestate
February 22nd, 2010 at 8:41 pm
February 23rd, 2010 at 8:45 pm
Secura International Corp.
707 Cityland Shaw Tower
Shaw Blvd., Mandaluyong City
Tel.No:+632-9101223 and 637-4982
cellphone:09175233175
e-mail:securaintl@gmail.com
The indicative price of Moringa plantlet (out of the test tube)is five pesos/plantlet.Minimum order FOB Butuan airport is 20,000 plantlets,pack in styrofor box ready for transplanting into nursery bags.
February 23rd, 2010 at 8:49 pm
It is safe to fertilize 14-14-14 when the Moringa plant is flowering, we’ve done it in our farm and it enhances the production of flowers.
February 24th, 2010 at 12:02 am
For those who are interested to invest a farmland in Cebu, Bohol or Negros.
You can contact me at +63325806788 / 09208633178
Thank You
Arbinson Yamson
Filipino Homes
VP Sales and Marketing
March 1st, 2010 at 12:54 am