Skip to main content
U.K. Edition
Thursday, 28 March 2024

Ash-covered pineapples a woe for Filipino farmer

Duration: 01:48s 0 shares 1 views

Ash-covered pineapples a woe for Filipino farmer
Ash-covered pineapples a woe for Filipino farmer

Farmer Jack Imperial woke to a picture of devastation after ash spewed from a volcano in the Philippines - his verdant green pineapple field had been transformed to a dirty dark grey.

Lauren Antony reports.

Farmer Jack Imperial hoped to harvest his pineapples soon.

But after ash spewed from a volcano in the Philippines, his vast fields have been transformed from verdant green - to a dirty, gloomy grey.

(SOUNDBITE) (Filipino) PINEAPPLE FARMER JACK IMPERIAL SAYING: "We were badly hit by the eruption of Taal, we were affected as well as the pineapple farming.

We will not be able to harvest the pineapples that are already due for picking.

We just have to accept that we will incur a loss.

Even if we are able to harvest some pineapples, if customers are scared to come because of the eruption, the pineapples will just end up rotting." Imperial said he has not seen a sight like this in 17 years of farming.

For the national economy, the eruption has only been a blip.

But for farmers like Imperial it is a total disaster.

He usually sells his pineapples in slices, chunks and juice to tourists.

But tourists have disappeared, and tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from a danger zone near the volcano - as there are fears it could violently erupt at any moment.

According to agriculture authorities, the ashfall has caused more than $11 million worth of damage to crops.

Some locals have defied the evacuation order to maintain their livelihoods.

Drifting back towards the volcano to fish in the quiet waters - which are usually heaving with boats.

The alert level for the volcano stood at 4 on a 5-point scale on Wednesday (January 15), indicating that an "explosive eruption" remained imminent.

You might like