A to Z 2013: Agriculture

For the month of April I will be blogging alphabetically with the theme of Winnipeg versus Davao City. Not to prove a winner but simply to explore the differences and similarities between my home town and my current location.

A is for Agriculture!

Wheat and wind farm in Southern Manitoba.

Winnipeg was founded on the fur trade and wheat farming. We still have the Hudson's Bay Company and we most definitely are still known for our wheat. All kinds of grain is grown around the City of Winnipeg. It also has major pork, beef, chicken and dairy farms. We also have fantastic berries like blueberries, strawberries, saskatoons, chokecherries, raspberries... many growing wild across the province.

A cow who knows how to pose for the camera.

You know that Canola oil that is used all over the world? That was developed in Winnipeg at the University of Manitoba. It was derived from rapeseed to make it safe for human consumption and then they changed the name so make is sound less creepy. "Canola" comes from Canadian Oil Low Acid. 

Patchwork of fields just West of Winnipeg.

The Prairies are considered the bread basket of North America. Lots of agribusiness.

Davao is the Durian Capital of the Philippines.

Whereas the growing season around Winnipeg is very short and intense, Davao has lush flora year-round. 

Banana and coconut trees in my neighbourhood.

Here it's not about acres of grain fields but rather vast plantations of durian, banana, mango, coconut, papaya, mangosteen, pomelo, rambutan, lanzones, pineapple and other tropical fruit. Along with that comes coffee and cacao beans. (Civet Coffee is even produced here!) We also have local sugar cane which gives us a great selection of raw sugars at very reasonable prices. And there is rice, of course. (There is ALWAYS rice here!)

There is a lot of pork and chicken but beef is mostly imported. Fish is a huge thing here. At slightly higher elevations, near Mt. Apo, there are farms that grow more moderate-climate produce as well. This gives us nice variety but non-native items are still quite pricey.

Goats out by the Santa Ana Wharf.

Both cities have a lot of agriculture in the area, but the biggest difference in my opinion is that in Davao, it doesn't stay rural. There are cattle and goats in nearly every unclaimed green space, half the private houses have a few chickens running around and fruit trees grow all throughout the city and are fair game for anyone to harvest.

An open green space in my neighbourhood.