Kidapawan pushes thru with Timpupo Festival despite drop in fruit harvests
KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews / 28 Aug) — Conceived as a celebration of the city’s abundant fruit harvest, the annual Timpupo Festival, now on its 37th year, was held nevertheless despite a significant drop in harvests due to the effects of climate change.
Situated at the foot of Mt. Apo where the climate is cool and thus conducive to farming, this time of the year is supposed to be picking season for the fruits, which in the vernacular is “timpupo.”
Despite the low volume of fruit harvests this year, the city still proceeded with the celebration from Aug. 18 to 27, but with a renewed sense of purpose as residents confront the stark realities of climate change.
Mayor Paolo Evangelista said in his office during the opening of the festival on Aug. 18 that they are using the event to highlight a long-term solution to environmental challenges: a massive tree-planting campaign.
5% harvest
“We have really felt the effects of climate change. This year, our fruit production is only 5% of what it was last year. We expected April, May, and June to be warm months, but because of climate change, we had heavy rain, which is why the trees didn’t flower,” he narrated.
While mangosteen, rambutan, and lanzones are scarce this year, the festival is still featuring a wide variety of other fruits, including durian, marang (a popular fruit for tourists from Metro Manila and Cebu), santol, and dragon fruit.
Former Agriculture Secretary and North Cotabato Governor Manny Piñol, a resident of this city and a farming advocate, has also observed the impact of climate change on his own farm.
“Usually, mangosteen, lanzones, and rambutan are abundant from July to August, but they are very rare now,” he said in his farm here last week.
Piñol explained that the predicament of the fruit industry is its dependence on natural precipitation.
Unlike advanced countries that can program fruiting with irrigation, Philippine farming often relies on natural rainfall after a dry spell, he narrated.
“That’s the problem,” he said. “If everyone is dependent on the same factors, then when it rains after a long drought, everyone’s trees bear fruit at the same time, and prices drop.”
He suggested that Filipino fruit farmers must “elevate the fruit industry to a scientific level” by using technology and adopting modern farming methods to program harvests and stabilize prices.
Planting 3 million trees
Beyond the fruit feast, the true highlight of this year’s festival is the city’s campaign to plant three million trees over the next five years.
“Timpupo means ‘to harvest,’ but we are redefining it,” Evangelista explained. “It’s not just harvesting; we also have to plant,” he added.
The campaign, which began in 2023, aims to instill in the community “the culture of planting more than the culture of harvesting.”
“You cannot tame nature with artificial structures. Nature can only be tamed by nature itself,” the mayor said, emphasizing that tree planting is a more cost-effective and long-term solution for flood control.
“We don’t have to spend billions of pesos just to control floods. We just have to spend a little amount to establish a nursery and tap the resources of the community,” Evangelista said.
He added that the city views tree planting as a long-term solution to a long-term problem like climate change, contrasting it with short-term fixes like drainage and cleanup drives.
“Funds allocated for massive, poorly studied infrastructure projects would be better used for waste management and community livelihood programs,” Evangelista pointed out.
2 kilometers of fruit boodle fight
Even with a reduced fruit harvest, the city still hosted its “Fruits Eat All You Can sa Kadalanan,” a free-for-all buffet of fruits along a two-kilometer stretch of Quezon Boulevard, on Wednesday.
Randy, a tourist from Arizona in the United States, felt lucky to witness and enjoy the feast.
“Somebody gave me mangosteen. People here are lovely, the fruits are abundant. I love it here,” he said.
During the week-long festivities, the city also offered free grilled durian and santol ice cream every day starting 4 p.m. until supplies ran out.
The festival also included fruit-eating contests, socio-cultural events, traditional games, and concerts.
The celebration concluded with a fruit float parade and a pyro musical display. (Ferdinandh Cabrera / MindaNews)
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