Money Grows on Watermelons | Taiwan
Posted by Unknown in Fruits, Watermelon Cantaloupe and Honeydew on Saturday, 26 January 2013
(Mb.com.ph)
The melon family – watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew - are major
crops in Taiwan. That’s because the farmers have discovered them to be
usually more profitable to grow than many other crops. For one, the
yield is high when the proper seeds and technology are employed. They
don’t take a long time to grow. The fruits are well liked by consumers
and so the market is big.
In
the past many years, thousands of cultivars have been developed by
plant breeders, especially those of Known-You Seed Company, Taiwan’s
biggest seed firm specializing in the melon group, pepper, tomato,
eggplant, cucurbits, crucifers, papaya, sweet corn and several others.
It
could be said that Known-You has been largely responsible for the
popularity of melons and watermelons today. Starting as small seed store
in 1968 in Fengshan, Kaohsiung, it has grown into a giant company,
thanks to the dedication of its founder Wun-Yu Chen who at 86 still goes
to his office and visits the company’s experimental farms regularly. He
has, however, delegated much of the administrative work to his son,
Lung-Mu Chen, who is also a plant breeder.
Known-You’s
success was not instant. It took a lot of effort not only to produce
new cultivars but also to convince the farmers to plant the improved
varieties. They had to set up demonstration farms, had to conduct
lectures and seminars, and also come up with promotional activities such
as harvest festivals.
The
annual watermelon festival, for instance, is a major event that is
participated in by hundreds of grow-ers. It has created much interest in
the industry among farmers, traders and input suppliers. There is
intense competition for winning in the different award categories such
as the biggest, the sweetest fruits, and so on. The participants are not
after cash awards. In fact, the owner of the winning fruits will
usually contribute a substantial sum to the coffers of the seed
association or to some other beneficiary. The reward comes in the form
of prestige and higher prices for the owner’s produce.
While
it was not that easy to convince the farmers to try the new seeds, they
would become loyal customers once they have the seen the advantages of
growing the improved varieties. Just like Lee Chin Yue, 83, who first
tried hybrid watermelon seeds 40 years ago, or three years after Known
You was established.
Since
then, up to now, he has been planting watermelon and melons. He could
not hide the profits he had reaped the past 40 years. One evidence is
his palatial house that has three storeys. Lee Chin Yue has also
influenced the farmers in his community. Today, they are planting no
less than 250 hectares to melons and watermelons in Tongsan.
His
son Lee Hung Chen is also a melon farmer for many years now. Unlike
many other farmers, he prefers to grow honeydew melon, particularly the
Honey World variety. This is an early variety that ripens in 45 to 55
days after flowering. The flesh is light green, tender and sweet. What
he likes most about Honey World is that it is much easier to manage than
the cantaloupe varieties. The cantaloupes, he said, are often attacked
by mildew diseases.
Lee
Hung Chen says it does not require a big area to make a decent profit.
In fact, he has planted to Honey World only 100 plastic-roofed tunnels
which are one meter wide and 60 meters long. In each tunnel, he has
planted 150 hills that will give about 300 fruits (two per hill). With
an average weight of 2 kilos per fruit, that means 600 kilos per tunnel.
Multiply that by 100 tunnels and you get 60,000 kilos or 60 tons.
Lee’s
honeydew fruits are due for harvest this coming Chinese New Year and
prices are expected to be high. But even if the price would be the
prevailing price during our interview last December 21, which was NT$28
per kilo, the gross income from the 100 tunnels would be NT$1.68
million. His cost of inputs was NT$160,000 while labor cost is estimated
at NT$100,000. Add to that other costs in packing and transporting the
produce and there’s still a big margin.
Multiply
that by the thousands of farmers benefiting from the seeds and
technologies developed by Known-You and you realize how huge is their
impact on the lives of farmers, especially the smallhold farmers. And
then consider the impact of the same on the lives of millions of farmers
in other countries where Known-You seeds are grown such as the
Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, India, China, United States, Korea,
Indonesia and many others around the world.
The
plant breeders of Known-You are continually conducting research to come
up with varieties for the changing times. These could include hybrids
that have shorter growing period that will be suitable for areas with
short rainy period. Other hybrids could be ones that are more resistant
to pests and diseases. Then new hybrids could either be smaller or
bigger, depending on the target market.
For
instance, there could be demand for smaller fruits that will be more
affordable in some areas. Small fruits have their own advantages. They
could be eaten in one sitting so you don’t have to store in the
refrigerator unconsumed portions. Or they could be easier to market
because they are more affordable, especially where the purchasing power
is limited.
By ZAC B. SARIAN
