RP’s sweetest tamarind

The country’s sweetest, newly developed tamarind variety is now being commercially planted.

As of 2007, about 4,500 seedlings of Aglibut Sweet had been planted in farms and backyards in Zambales, the province chosen to be the first commercial grower of the variety.

The variety was developed by researchers of the Pampanga Agricultural College (PAC) in Magalang, Pampanga, after a decade of R&D work. It was subsequently approved for commercial planting by the National Seed Industry Council (NSIC).

The tamarind was named after the late Prof. Andres Aglibut of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), a noted agricultural engineer. Aglibut had also served as consultant of among other institutions, PAC and the Mountain State Agricultural College (MSAC, now Benguet State University) in La Trinidad, Benguet.

The commercialization of sweet tamarind in Zambales was made possible through the efforts of former senator Ramon Magsaysay Jr. and PAC, with funding support from the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR) headed by Director Nicomedes P. Eleazar.

The project is being implemented by the DA-Regional Field Unit-3, Central Luzon Agricultural Research Center, and local government units in Zambales.

The multi-campus Ramon Magsaysay Technological University (RMTU) in Zambales headed by Dr. Feliciano Rosete was also tapped to promote the sweet tamarind variety.

Aglibut Sweet is comparable to the Bangkok (Thailand) variety, which is internationally known for its sweetness.

In 2006, PAC, then headed by Dr. Zosimo Battad, president, embarked on the commercialization of Aglibut Sweet in Zambales. This Central Luzon province has been identified as ideal for tamarind because of its semi-arid lands, although tamarind can thrive well in any type of soil and agro-climatic condition.

Under the project, PAC trained and provided technical assistance to interested farmers and tamarind growers. Loans payable in one year in three installments were also provided to selected farmer-beneficiaries.

The project has aroused the interest of Zambales local government officials, who are now planning to establish their respective scion groves and to eventually venture into seedling production for their needs.

“Tamarind has a huge market potential in the Philippines because the country is continuously importing them to meet domestic demand,” PAC stated.  — Rudy A. Fernandez