Grey pineapples: Volcano shatters Philippines farm
TAGAYTAY, Philippines: 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. Imperial said his chances of salvaging produce from his 1-hectare (2.5-acre) farm were small and, in any case, there was no one to sell them to with tourists avoiding the Tagaytay area on the archipelago’s biggest island Luzon, 32 km (20 miles) from the Taal volcano.
“We just have to accept that we will incur a loss,” said Imperial, 49, who had never seen such a sight in 17 years of farming. “Even if we are able to harvest some pineapples, if customers are scared to come because of the eruption, the pineapples would just end up rotting.”
The impact of the volcano on the $330 billion national economy has been a blip, despite cancelled flights and a day of work lost because of a heavy ashfall in the capital Manila, 70 km (45 miles) away, on Sunday. But for some of the farmers growing pineapples, bananas and coffee nearby it has been a disaster. Brushing ash from a fruit, Imperial said he feared that the hot ash had harmed his crop and made it inedible. He used to sell his pineapples, in slices, chunks and juice, at a small stall frequented by tourists beside his house.
But the tourists have disappeared and tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from a danger zone around Taal. The alert level for the volcano stood at 4 on a 5-point scale on Wednesday, indicating that an “explosive eruption” remained imminent.