Sweet Bounty

Mt. Kitanglad Agro-Ventures Inc.

How do you put a premium on a lowly banana? Grow it using eco-friendly farming methods, that’s how. Not only will it cost more in the international market, it will also guarantee long-term profitability through sustainable agriculture. Sweet bounty indeed. This is the road chosen by Mt. Kintanglad Agro-Ventures, Inc. (MKAVI), "where the process of production is as important as the product itself" and what garnered for it a Special Citation for Ecologically-Sound Production Processes given by the Center for Internmational Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) of the Department of Trade and Industry.

"Our company believes that development does not only mean growth in GNP, increase in employment opportunities, income and more stable living standards, but it is a multi-faceted term that encompasses the economic, social, political and moral aspects of life. Thus, development is a quality of life. One cannot enjoy economic development if he is breathing and drinking polluted air and water. Money can’t buy fresh air," says Ricarte E. Abejuela, Sr., president of MKAVI. And this is what separates MKAVI from the rest–its commitment to eco-friendly practices in producing export-quality highland bananas.

MKAVI prides itself on being one of the first Better Banana Project/Eco-OK certified farms in the Philippines given by the Rainforest Alliance last April 2002, a New York-based ngo dedicated to the conservation of the world’s tropical forests. Located just a few kilometers away from the wildlife of Mt. Kitanglad Range National Park, MKAVI is committed to ecologically-sound farming methods that ensure a better environment not only for its people but also for other "residents" of the Mt. Kitanglad National Park, which include the famous Philippine eagle and 16 other birds endemic to Mindanao and the Philippines.

Lantapan, Bukidnon was chosen because of its climate, which is most suitable for mountain sweet banana farming. MKAVI’s commitment to socially-responsible practices extends to its surrounding communities by providing developmental programs and livelihood opportunities to about 1,000 people and more than 700 families through the Mt. Kitanglad Agri-Ventures Multi-Purpose Cooperative (MOVECO).

MKAVI aims to be a "100 percent organic banana farm in the next five years", a dream that is not far-fetched, given all the programs already being practiced and the plans being drawn up today. Examples of such programs are the Integrated Pest Management Program including the non-application of herbicides and namatides, no aerial spraying, the drip irrigation system adopted from Israel, tree planting across the gullies and buffer zones;, organic composting and green manuring, waste water treatment and planting of grass to prevent soil erosion.

For a company that began operations only in 1998, MKAVI’s fame goes beyond the borders of Bukidnon and attracts a steady flow of both local and foreign visitors. It has shown to the country and to the world its capability to be at par with the best in the banana export industry. MKAVI’s highland bananas are marketed under the brand name "Chiquita" to Japan, the Middle East and China, with Japan accounting for 63 percent of its sales.

MKAVI is blessed to find "landowners who believe in the pureness of our intention in our pursuit of economic excellence and development but not at the expense of destroying our natural resources, our natural environment." Indeed it is rare to find people who are willing to sacrifice immediate profit for long term success, and rarer still are those who actually make it happen.