If you want to read about a success story in papaya production, better get hold of the July issue of Agriculture Magazine published by the Manila Bulletin and edited by yours truly.

This is the story of Enrico Batungbacal who manages a 200-hectare farm in Palauig, Zambales.

While his farm’s major crop is thousands of mangoes, his newest money maker is Red Lady papaya.

He planted less than a hectare to 1,200 papaya seedlings, taking really good care of them. Now he is reaping a bumper crop.

The story is written by Pete Samonte who is a regular contributor to the monthly magazine. Samonte’s story details how Enrico prepared his soil for planting and how he nourishes his plants with the right fertilizer formulation and dosage.

Enrico does not only pay attention to the growing of his plants. He also takes care of postharvest handling and packaging. His fruits are attractively packed in fruit nets and placed in individual cartons.

That’s why retail customers don’t mind paying P45 per kilo. One fruit weighs about three kilos.

Of course, it takes some capital to put up a papaya plantation like that of Enrico. Samonte reports that Enrico spent P500,000 to put up the papaya plantation. That could be recovered easily because according to Enrico’s own estimate, the whole plantation could produce 100 to 200 tons. A hundred tons at the farmgate price of P35 per kilo would gross P3.5 million.

There are other inspiring stories in the July issue of Agriculture Magazine. That includes the story of Dr. Ofelia M. Peralta of the Sunshine International School in Daraga, Albay. She has converted a one-hectare property in front of her school into an organic farm where she produces high-value vegetables and other crops. On the cover are the luscious Diana watermelon that she is growing and which is selling like the proverbial hotcake in Bicol.

Then there is the inspiring story of the St. Jude Subdivision vegetable garden in San Fernando City in Pampanga. This is a model that Mayor Oscar Rodriguez would like to be undertaken in all the 127 subdivisions in San Fernando.

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MUSHROOM SEMINAR AND BONSAI SHOW. There is a whole day seminar on mushroom culture Saturday, starting at 9 a.m. at the AANI Herbal Garden at the Quezon Memorial Center.in Quezon City.

Also at the Quezon Memorial Circle, the maiden garden show of the Bonsai and Suiseki Alliance of the Philippines will open this afternoon. The show will run through July 11.