Ooh-la-lanzones!
In the island province of Camiguin, the ratio is four lanzones trees to a person.
The provincial agriculture office said about 2,000 hectares of Camiguin’s 29,187-ha land area are planted with lanzones trees. The province has some 18,000 ha devoted to agricultural production.
But it is not about the number of trees. It’s about the quality of the fruit.
The presence of potassium in the island’s volcanic soil gave Camiguin’s lanzones its distinct sweetness, agriculture officials said.
Every year, residents here celebrate that fact through the weeklong Lanzones Festival. Now on its 37th year, the festival ends today with activities lined up in the capital town of Mambajao.
The annual celebration is one of the most recognized cultural events in the country, staged as thanksgiving for the abundant harvest of the fruit that made Camiguin known in the country. —TEXT AND PHOTO BY JIGGER J. JERUSALEM