To test the feasibility of growing mangos organically in the Philippines, allowing the local farmers to produce a valuable product that competes with larger commercial and international markets.
Mangos are the third largest export crop in the Philippines behind bananas and pineapples. Yet unlike those other two crops, which are farmed on huge plantations by multinationals, about half of all mangos produced in the Philippines for export are produced by poor backyard farmers. The use of organic technologies can help the farmers to produce export-profitable organic mangos, putting money in their pockets and reducing risks to their health posed by use of common chemical agents.
We will conduct a study in which the fruit trees, climate, soil, weather patterns, and organisms are studied in order to learn whether organic farming techniques are feasible in the region.
The project has the potential to increase the household assets of the farmers, reduce their hospital visits, and positively effect the environment by eliminating the use of chemical agents.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
