From being the first Filipino marine officer of a large container group, Melvin Awid is now Sarangani's pioneering vanilla farmer.
Life at sea is undeniably exciting, but here’s a story about a particular seafarer who found life on land a lot more fulfilling.
Meet Melvin Awid, a 29-year-old vanilla farmer in Sarangani. But before he was a farmer, Awid was a seafarer with a very bright future. In 2020, Awid was a Third Officer for a large ship container company and, simultaneously, was the first Filipino officer in the entire fleet.
It was an honorable position accompanied with a high salary, but Awid made a decision to leave his well-paying career at sea to return to Sarangani with a new goal in mind: to make Sarangani the vanilla capital of the Philippines.
From a marine officer to a farmer, Melvin Awid now cultivates almost 1000 plants in Maitum, Sarangani.
In 2021, Awid closed the chapter of his life as a seaman and started a new one as a full-time farmer.
To see is to believe
Awid’s farm is based in Brgy. Kalaneg, Maitum, Sarangani. He first started growing vanilla in 2019 with just 25 vanilla plants.
A vanilla vine up close.
Of course, Awid’s decision to grow and propagate vanilla wasn’t random. During his travels as a seaman, Awid’s encounter with a man in Madagascar was the first cog in this whole operation.
“I was given a background by a stevedore, or a kargador. He educated me somewhat about the vanilla industry in Madagascar, its potential, how easy it is to cultivate the vanilla, and how massive the market potential was,” Awid said in Taglish.
Before he invested fully in vanilla, Awid first tried growing one plant. The stevedore he met in Madagascar gave him one plant which he propagated in a pot he had on the ship.
It was a challenge, considering that being at sea means entering different climates, but Awid learned that vanilla can survive any climate and condition as long as it is cared for properly. The success of his first plant inspired Awid to acquire 25 vanilla planting materials to plant in the Philippines. “That’s when I gained interest,” he said. “You know us Filipinos, to see is to believe. So you have to experience something before you venture into something bigger.”
The stevedore he met had told him about the huge market potential vanilla had. As he researched more on the topic, Awid learned that a vanilla pod could be priced at $590 at the global market. This had furthered Awid’s motivation towards his new venture.
Because it was a completely new field for him, Awid turned to online resources to learn more about vanilla propagation in depth. He learned from community groups on Facebook, and there were plenty of farmers who shared their best agricultural practices with one another.
After first planting vanilla in 2019, Awid continued being a seaman for two more years before quitting completely.
Over the years, Awid’s farm has grown to have almost 1000 vanilla plants. He has two sites where he planted vanilla. His first planting site is a 30 square meter greenhouse with 180 plants that is open to visitors, and his other site is an open space farm that houses 800 vanilla plants. The open space farm is closed to the public and only accessible by him for biosecurity measures.
Read more of the story in the Original article by Agriculture PH Magazine:[https://www.agriculture.com.ph/2023/05/25/career-switch-seafarer-leaves-life-at-sea-to-promote-vanilla-farming-in-sarangani/]
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