N. Cotabato fruit growers to show strength on May 10

KIDAPAWAN CITY — There is one "timid" sector in this newly created city and in the surrounding North Cotabato towns that will have "one voice" and "one vote" in a show of political strength in the May 10 elections.

Farmers engaged in the propagation of high-value crops, such as exotic fruits, which have made North Cotabato the new orchard capital of Central Mindanao over the last six years, are keen on voting for only one gubernatorial and presidential candidate.

Records obtained from the office of Gov. Emmanuel Piñol show that the biggest chunk of North Cotabato’s export earnings in the past six years was from fruit production, which growers attribute to dramatic improvements in peace and order brought about by the provincial government’s pacification thrusts in areas where Moro secessionist forces and New People’s Army guerrillas are scattered.

At least 63 percent of North Cotabato farmers are engaged in the propagation of durian, mangosteen, rambutan and lan-zones, which command high prices not only here but also in the Visayas and Metro Manila and even abroad as well.

"Imagine 63 percent of the farming sector in Kidapawan City and North Cotabato supporting the candidacy of a favored gubernatorial and presidential candidate? That’s something to reckon with," a Cebuano fruit grower in a farming village here told The STAR.

The farmer, who requested anonymity, cited the efforts of President Arroyo and Piñol in promoting the local fruit industry through improved peace and order in their communities where communist and Moro separatist rebels once had "shadow governments."

"We cannot allow these rebel groups to return to our farms and again (impose) ‘revolutionary taxes’ on us, restraining us from maximizing our farming activities for fear our income would only go to them. With President Arroyo and Gov. Piñol, we are sure of progress and security in our farms," seconded Abdullah Kamid, a Muslim fruit grower.

In the Buliok complex, a former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) stronghold at the boundary of Pikit, North Cotabato and Pagalungan, Maguindanao, Muslim farmers are anxiously awaiting the entry of prospective donors who will help them develop their lands into oil palm plantations.

The package is part of the thrust of the provincial government and Malacañang to transform the Buliok complex, now a peace zone and where former MILF chieftain Hashim Salamat operated their command headquarters, into a peaceful agricultural hub.

Only last March, Piñol’s office donated a dozen brand-new farm tractors imported from Europe to MILF farmers in barangays surrounding the Buliok complex to hasten the development of their communities into productive peace zones.

Barangay officials, many of them identified with the MILF, took turns pledging their support for the candidacies of Piñol and Mrs. Arroyo during the turnover of the farm tractors.