With the dry months approaching, made worse by El Niño, residents here find ways to quench their thirst while having fun.

A visit to Barangay Sappaac here can do the trick while helping farmers.

“It was fun, different and a worth-it experience, having to watch the young people deseed the watermelon fruits as they eat their share. I also ate and the fruit was sweet,” former Peñarrubia mayor Antonio Domesag said as he joined his friends who went to the site on Thursday.

Visitors of the farms are allowed to eat watermelons but are required to remove the seeds first because these are collected by the farmers, which they later on sell to Bulacan-based fruit and vegetable seed company East West Seeds Philippines.

Members of the Abra Vegetable Seed Cooperative (Avseco) in Barangay Sappaac grow watermelons primarily for the seeds, a business teamup with East West Seeds since 2012.

Eddie Pascual, one of the watermelon seed growers who utilizes his 5,000 square meters of land, said he was among the first when their cooperative inked the contract.

He said at least 100 fruits of a certain variety of watermelon are needed to produce a kilo of quality seeds.

“Anyone can go here during harvest time to enjoy a quenching bite of watermelon as long as they leave the seeds with us. We appreciate it because they are helping us in our task of obtaining just the seeds,” Pascual said in Ilocano.

Product consolidation

Pascual said he produced about 50 kilos of quality watermelon seeds in the first year that their cooperative teamed up with the seeds company.

He earned around PHP80,000, which he spent for a tricycle. Later on, he was able to build a house.

He said members of the cooperative prefer the tie-up with the seeds company rather than selling the produce themselves because the burden of selling and disposing of the produce are gone.

“I, we, prefer this system. Being with the cooperative is helpful because we also help each other meet the requirements of the company. So, we work hard as a group to meet the demands of the party that our cooperative negotiated business with,” he said in Ilocano.

Pascual said the watermelon harvest is for the second cropping, which is when there is little water supply.

“We use our land for rice production during the rainy season and after the harvest, we go into watermelon that does not require so much water, making our deep well irrigation water sufficient and enough to grow the plants,” he said.

Government aid

Since their area remains largely reliant on rain, Pascual said they are thankful for government interventions to address water supply issues.

Maritess Balling, municipal agriculture officer, said in a separate interview, that watermelons are high-value crops.

“These are planted by farmers after they are done planting rice. The government is extending technical assistance aside from post-harvest aid for farmers to sustain their livelihood,” she said.

Balling said tobacco farmers are thinking of changing their commodity to watermelons, which have lesser production expenses.

She added that with the experience of those who help deseed the watermelons, they are considering a watermelon festival if the company will allow it. (PNA)