MANILA — Social enterprise Rural Rising Philippines is calling on the public to save the Formosa pineapples of Bicol from rotting and help farmers dodge losses.

In a Facebook post, Rural Rising co-founder Ace Estrada noted that demand is low for the small pineapple variety, locally called "Buraots," as big buyers label them as "out."

"No one buys them except paisa-isa by occasional picnickers, certainly not by big buyers," he wrote. "Buraots like these are left out on the field to rot, food for bats and mice."

Rural Rising will sell the Formosa pineapples from farmers in the towns of San Lorenzo Ruiz and Labo, Camarines Norte, Estrada said. The farmers are set to harvest the pineapples next month.

"We're not selling you undersized pineapples (buraots), we are helping them make extra money from these pineapples that they leave to rot on the field," he said.

"We are not lowering your standards, we are elevating your understanding that the small ones are actually the sweeter ones. October pa po ang harvest but we launched this early so that we have a big order for our farmers."

Rural Rising has been doing "rescue buys" since 2020, when the COVID crisis prevented farmers from getting produce out of their farms.

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Estrada and his wife Andie learned of the problem of Bicol farmers when they visited San Lorenzo Ruiz town last year "with a mind to buy up all the best and biggest pineapples we can find as a way to help the distressed farmers there."

At the time, they met a farmer, Rex, who introduced them to Formosa pineapples, which were ignored and left rotting despite their sweet taste.

Their meeting with Rex, a third-generation pineapple farmer, "completely changed the way we saw the problem."

"We ate a lot of these buraots the whole time we were in Camarines Norte. There’s absolutely, absolutely nothing wrong with them, maliliit lang (they're small) what does it matter? We see the farmers, we see their difficulties finding buyers even for the 'good size' pineapples and we see a way to right a wrong, and that is to BUY THE BURAOTS," Estrada said.

"It is the middlemen who decided that they have no value, but Andie and I say they do, and our group is there to prove it. If you call this a life changer for farmers like Rex, you are absolutely right."

• 'Rescue buy': Facebook group of 22,000 helps distressed farmers sell produce