Fruit and Vegetable Bag (NU6-4 by Verman T. Reyes) in lieu of pesticides

Fruit and Vegetable Bag 

NU6-4 by Verman T. Reyes

Fruit bag practice in Thailand (Santol fruits being bagged)

One of the contraints to fruit and vegetable quality is pest damage. Sometimes farmers use too much pesticide to control pest incidence. To resolve damage to fruit and vegetable harvest, one must prevent the increase of pest incidence. One of the solutions is by bagging the fruit and vegetables once there is fruit and vegetable set on the trees and plants. 

At present, the materials being used for bagging are used newspapers or telephone directory. The bagging materials are being bought in junk or thrift shops. But competition from recycling companies are driving the prices of bagging materials to 1 pesos from 50 cents. Current practice of expert mango baggers is to charge mango orchard owners P2 per fruit including labor.

When I visited Thailand to visit an orchard in Central Thailand to observe farm practices on Santol and Sampalok production, I observed that they use black plastic bag to bag their Santol fruits. Since I have a friend you manufactures plastic products and wants to diversify into agricultural products using plastic, I think this is a good product to manufacture.

Benefits of using the Bagging system

1. Prevention of high pest incidence
2. Prevention of sunburn 
3. Decrease in using pesticide and fungicides
4. Favorable for practicing organic farming
5. Quality fruit and vegetable produce
6. Prevention from weather damage like too much rain and wind incidence
7. Prevention of farm workers having health related problems in using too much chemical inputs in the farm
8. Farmers can save more in usings fruit and vegetable bags

Improved bagging system

1. Using biodegradable plastic bag
2. Writable plastic bag (farmers can write what day they bagged so that they could know the harvest time)
3. Reusable plastic bag
4. Cheaper plastic bag
5. Lighter plastic bag for easy transport
6. Black plastic bags
7. Breathable plastic bags

Economic benefits

This will rejuvinate the plastic industry because of the effect plastic ban in Philippines. This will generate jobs since farms will need to outsource the bagging work. It will also improve and increase trade since our produce will be in quality standard bevause of less chemical inputs.

Recommendation

To improve farming practices, we need to provide our farmers innovative products that can improve quality of their produce and income. I think the new bagging system will help them tremendously.  3

Regards,

Verman T. Reyes

AGSB-REGIS Clark