Agriculture Business Week

One practical way of enabling poor agriculture students to continue their studies is being implemented at the Visayas State University in Baybay, Leyte. This is what they call “Vegetable Scholarship.”

Under this scheme, agriculture students who would like to earn some money while studying plant vegetables which they can sell to earn cash. The project was launched by the East-West Seed Company and VSU last year and the results are encouraging.

Four senior agriculture students are currently enrolled in the program. There were originally seven when the project was launched but three have already graduated. The students plant the latest varieties of high-value vegetables on 3,000 square meters provided by VSU for free. The seeds are also provided free by East-West Seed Company.

The four are Jonathan Requiso, Rodel Morales of Ormoc City, Noel Gantala of San Francisco, Southern Leyte (all horticulture majors) and Andy Cornell Bornillo, an agronomy major from Bien Unido, Bohol. They are trained by specialists of the seed company on the improved techniques of growing high-yielding hybrid seeds. Prof. Elizabeth Briones of VSU, on the other hand, serves as the faculty coordinator.

The four work as a team so that when one is not busy with his academic work, he attends to the vegetable garden. They themselves prepare the plots for planting. They germinate the seedlings, transplant them and take good care of them so that they will produce a reasonable harvest.

Their standing crops at the time of our visit (August 7) included 560 hills of okra which have given them so far 40 kilos sold at P25 per kilo. The crop was still productive and they expected to harvest more from the same. They have been taught how to make their plants become more productive. Aside from planting the right variety, one of the improved techniques they learned is the removal of the lower leaves of the plants, leaving only few fresh leaves at the top. The old leaves are useless as they consume some of the nutrients the plants absorb from the soil. Also the old leaves could be the nesting place of insect pests.

The first harvest from their 150 sweet pepper plants was expected in a few days from our visit. As per the experience of farmers in Ormoc City, sweet pepper is a good money maker. One planter in the upland barangay of Cabintan in Ormoc made enough money to buy a new truck from one hectare he planted to sweet pepper. It is estimated that one plant of sweet pepper could gross a hundred pesos.

Cucumber has been a good moneymaker for the students. The 460 hills of Big C cucumber that they planted last May yielded 395 kilos which grossed them P7,330. Cucumber has a short gestation. In 35 days from planting, the first fruits could be harvested. Harvesting is done every other day. Besides Big C, the students have planted the small-fruited Pipinito cucumber. The first harvest was about to be made during our visit. The Pipinito could be a favorite of consumers as it could be eaten fresh right after picking, just like eating apple. In fact, it is reported that in Bangkok this variety is a favorite snack for office workers.

The students were also expecting to have a good income from the 127 Morena eggplant seedlings that they planted last June 12. They harvested the first 10 kilos last July 27 which they sold at P30 per kilo. Since then, they have been harvesting twice a week at an increasing volume. They expect to harvest a lot more because the plants are very healthy and robust. What is good about eggplant is that the productive life is long. Given the proper fertilization and management, the plants could be productive for even more than a year.

Ampalaya is also a good crop for the student vegetable growers. At the time of our visit, their 75 hills of the Galactica hybrid that they planted last June 16 were fruiting very well. They picked their first harvest of five kilos on July 27 which they sold for P40 per kilo. Since then they have been harvesting twice a week and the price had gone up to P45 per kilo. Galactica is the latest ampalaya hybrid developed by the East-West Seed Company. It is claimed to be highly resistant to the dreaded virus disease locally known as Namamarako.

Sometimes the students experience what may be called failure. Just like when they planted one kilo of sweet corn seeds on 1,500 square meters last May 16. They had expected to make big money from this crop. However, they got only 211 kilos of ears which they sold at P33 per kilo for a total of P7,110. They got a low yield because of three typhoons that ravaged their plants. Besides, there was also plenty of rat damage. Anyway, that was part of their learning process in agribusiness.

While the students are not making as much money as the experienced farmers who are planting the high-value crops from East-West, they are able to meet their financial obligations in school. What is even more important is the skill that they acquire in vegetable production while they are pursuing their studies. That could provide them a good start when they decide to pursue their own agribusiness projects after graduation.

Indeed, the vegetable scholarship scheme is worth duplicating in other agricultural colleges and universities in the country.

By Zac B. Sarian