Argeñal Francisco is a producer of rambutan who can't remember having seen a season as bad as this one in his 14 years of being in this activity.
Like him, dozens of farmers are expecting a reduction in the volume of their crops because of the drought in Honduras.
"My plantation production won't be what I expected. One day, it rained, hail fell and burned most of my fruit. The taste of the fruit is simple and its size is small. We've been facing very difficult moments," said Argeñal.
Rambutan production rose since the Honduran Agricultural Research Foundation (FHIA) impelled varieties with increased resistance and grafts a little more than two decades ago.
"This will be a terrible year for me. I think I won't even recover my investment," said the producer.
The harvest months are in August, September, October, and, to a lesser intensity, November. However, producers haven't started this process and, consequently, this season's volume is expected to be lower.
"Climate change has brought delays in the bloom, which was erratic, and the drought has affected 50% of the crops compared to last year in the entire area," says Manuel Alfaro, president of the Association of Producers and Exporters of Fruits (Frutela). Perhaps 1% of the 1,000 hectares of rambutan have an irrigation system.
Financing
Since it is a rainy area, this exotic fruit develops the most in the Atlantic Coast.
"The fruit is susceptible to water deficit, so the dry corridor does not meet the conditions to grow it," he said.
Rambutan producers are expected to have a dialogue with authorities from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (SAG) in the coming days to increase the range of crops benefited by financing from the Fund for the Revival of the Agricultural Sector of Honduras (Firsa).
This scheme grants a preferential interest rate of 7.25% with banks. In August last year, L 1,500 million had been authorized for this purpose, and 70% of these funds were distributed for palm oil, 15% for the Bovine, Pork, and Poultry Repopulation Program, 7.5% for the Security and Food Sovereignty Program, and 7.5% for other sectors, such as the sugar cane sector.
Earlier last week, president Juan Orlando Hernandez met with representatives of 14 agricultural sectors to present the immediate needs of this activity that employs a third of the economically active population (EAP) of Honduras. "I am ready to accompany them wherever they need me," said the president.
Certifications
Estimates are that there are six fruit packing plants employing 50 people each, not counting the jobs created during the cutting and harvesting in Honduras.
As of January 25, 2003 the Department of Agriculture of the United States (USDA), through the Inspection Service for Agricultural Health (Aphis), authorized the export of Honduran rambutan to the US.
Their technicians inspect the fruit to see that its shell is intact and that it is free of the Mediterranean fruit fly and other pests or diseases.
"It is a fairly advanced certification process, both at the plants and on the farms, but we must remember its a new product and so far there has been no support for irrigation systems to small producers of rambutan," said Rafael Rodriguez, president of the Honduran Association of Producers and Exporters of Rambutan (Ahperambutan).
In 1993, the Fhia boosted the R-134, R-162, R-167, varieties from Malaysia, Jitlee from Singapore, R-156 from Malaysia and Binjai, and Seelengkeng from Indonesia.
Fruits of these varieties have characteristics that meet the requirements of the export market for fresh fruit, which requires a large, sweet aryl that detaches well from the seed.
Source: laprensa.hn