Agriculture Business Week

Flood is one big problem of rice farmers in Barangay Papaya in San Antonio, Nueva Ecija. The place is low-lying so when it rains heavily ricefields here are submerged for more than a week, with water depth reaching 1.5 meters.

Like other farmers in the community, 74-year-old Aquilino Sicat and his son Mario have tried flood-tolerant rice. But of all the varieties he and Mario have planted in the 2008 wet season, says Aquilino, only PSB Rc68 rice survived.

According to Dr. Nenita V. Desamero, plant breeder at the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), this is because PSB Rc68 is tolerant to abiotic stresses, particularly drought and submergence. So it is no wonder that Aquilino’s crop survived after being submerged twice in 1-meter water depth for a week.
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Aerial spraying is recognized as a method or standard means of pest control, crop management, and fertigation as expounded in agricultural modernization.

As early as 1968, the Philippines already had 10 aircrafts used in aerial spraying of export bananas, the Cavendish variety. Yet Russia that time already had 7,000, while the United States had 5,700, and these aircrafts were used in spraying cotton and corn among other plantation crops.

For so many decades now, no country that has experienced aerial spraying has banned the practice. And with the advent of modern research, safer and more modern pesticides are being formulated and introduced commercially worldwide. Hence, we do not have to fear the large-scale use of pesticides, fungicides, and fertilizers through aerial spraying to control the dreaded fungal diseases of bananas, particularly the Black Sigatoka.

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Rice farmers can earn extra money by doing fish-farming in their ricefields.

Instead of fishing in rivers, they may opt to convert the lower portion of their ricefields into fishponds like what a farmer in Alicia, Isabela did.

Roberto Navarro of Barangay Paddad does this so-called rice-fish technology by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR). He says that profit from his 1,700 square meter tilapia fishpond that used to be a mud pit is equivalent to an income from a 7,000 sq. m. rice land.

That’s because the stocks of this rice-fish technology demonstration cooperator of the BFAR Region II have reached 4 to 3 pieces a kilo. In fact some have weighed even half a kilo. At an average harvest weight of 250 grams, potential production is 1,806.25 kilos. This is worth a net income of P74,232 at A farmgate price of P70 per kilo.

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Increased rates of deforestation, unsustainable agricultural land use, and severe soil degradation are creating widespread poverty and environmental degradation in developing countries. Each day; the world loses about 125 square miles of its forests. That’s 34.5 million acres or 14 million hectares every year Most of this takes place in the developing countries of the humid tropics. Reforestation efforts are limited to only about 10% of the total area and most efforts are not promising.

Every year, the equivalent of 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide enters the global atmosphere, the result of the ever-increasing use of fossil fuels. This increase in atmospheric carbon, in combination with the loss of forests has combined to make global climate change worse.

The resulting human tragedy must be a cause for real concern because it affects all of us in so many ways. Global food security is declining, as is the world’s supply of safe drinking water. The death toll from floods and mudslides rises every year. World peace is threatened as nations wage war over a dwindling base of natural resources. Millions of rural families are forced from the homes into urban slums as the loss of the forests makes it no longer possible for their lands to support them.

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According  to Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa),  El Niño, a weather phenomenon characterized by dry spells, may peak in February.   Sunstar Davao (28 december 2009) reported  that Davao City and the provinces of Davao Region have been categorized as moderately vulnerable to the El Niño phenomenon alongside with the provinces of Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Mt Province, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Batangas, Laguna, Quezon, Romblon, Sorsogon, Aklan, Antique, Bohol, Samar, Zamboanga Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga Sur, and Bukidnon. The Center for Initiative and Research on Climate Adaptation (Circa) explained that the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (Eenso) is a recurrent ocean-warming and atmospheric disturbance resulting in deficient rainfall or prolonged drought.  This phenomenon is expected to adversely affect crop production.

Drought is a major limiting factor in farming.  Limited moisture suppresses the growth of crops, weakens the resistance  to pests and diseases, affects nutrient utilization and usually decreases the quality and quantity of yield.  Drought can cause damage to cell membranes.  Not all plants develop antioxidant defense systems to cope with  drought such that application of natural plant supplements that enhances resistance to drought maybe necessary during drought.   Cytokinins, a class of phytohormones, function as antioxidants and have been shown to improve drought resistance and exhibit anti-senescence properties  Musgrave,1994. Thimann (1987) noted that cytokinins delay the senescence process probably by maintaining the integrity of the tonoplast membrane.  Tonoplast membrane is the cytoplasmic membrane surrounding the vacuole, separating the vacuolar contents from the cytoplasm in a cell.  As a membrane, it is mainly involved in regulating the movements of ions around the cell, and isolating materials that might be harmful or a threat to the cell (www.biology-online.org/dictionary)

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He is a busy operator of a technical education institution with 12 branches in Metro Manila and in the provinces. You would think he has no time for farming but because he grew up in a farm, he could not help but do his own brand of farming, and not just hobby farming at that.

The fellow is Constancio Sia, a 77 year-old native of Valencia, Negros Oriental. A certified public accountant, he worked for five years in a well known accounting firm before he went on his own to start Asian College of Science and Technology which offered at first vocational courses. Today the school offers IT, electronics and nursing courses.

In 2001, after gracing so many sessions of the Agri-Kapihan, and attending seminars and agricultural trade shows like Agrilink, he decided to develop a five-hectare property near the poblacion of his hometown which he bought for P2 per square meter from a retired parish priest in 1960. Now the going price for an undeveloped property in the area is P1,500 per square meter but he would not sell his property at that price now because it is already full of bearing exotic fruit trees.

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We were just talking a few minutes ago over lunch with a lady who consulted us on how to go about developing her dream farm a year ago. She is a daughter of a former mayor who left behind several hectares of upland farms that have not been made productive for so many years. In one farm, a 7-hectare property that was willed to her, there’s a caretaker who has been doing nothing productive except to harvest the nuts of the few coconut trees that have been planted many years ago.

The lady is a highly educated professional who until lately was doing a lucrative consultancy work in Europe, China and elsewhere. Apparently, she has accumulated a sizeable nest egg, and probably felt that in this life there are more important things than just making money. She gave up her consulting job so she could develop her dream farm and in the process contribute her share in developing the community.

When we first met, we suggested that she consider growing high-value vegetables. Which she liked very much for a number of good reasons. Vegetables have a short gestation period and they could be grown year-round with the use of the latest technologies.

We suggested to her then that she visit as many vegetable farms as possible. And more important, she should attend trainings in vegetable culture. Which she did, not just once but twice. She attended the training course of Harbest Agribusiness in Cavite, and then the off-season course in vegetable production by East-West Seed.
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Now that El Niño is here with us, what are the crops that we should plant? Of course, this is an unusual El Niño because in some places there are sporadic light rains. Nevertheless, our weather experts tell us that the El Niño will probably last up to June.

Of course don’t be intimidated into not planting anything at all because of the phenomenon. It should be a challenge for us to be creative whether we are planting just for our own use or for commercial purposes.

Of course we should plant crops that don’t require a lot of water. One of them is Kadios or pigeon pea which is a very hardy plant because it develops a deep root system. There are a number of varieties that were introduced from India. They grow tall and are perennial so they remain productive for a number of years for as long as they are fertilized once in a while. To keep the plants low-growing, they could be topped about a meter above the ground after fruiting.

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When it comes to dissemination of farming technology, nothing beats the demo farm. People more easily believe what they see than what they only hear and don’t see. And that is why seed companies, fertilizer manufacturers, and even property developers resort to this strategy to win customers.

One property developer that is effectively using the demo farm idea is Manila East Lakeview Farms in Morong, Rizal. The company sells farm lots and a major come-on is that farm lot owners can grow their favorite vegetables, not just for home use but also for commercial purposes.

The company has tied up with seed companies such as Allied Botanical Corporation and East-West Seed Company in showcasing some of the most productive hybrid vegetab
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Upland farming wouldn’t be grueling with the agricultural tramline system. It’s a ropeway for fast, easy, and cheap transport of produce from farms on the mountains to the nearest roads.

It reduces hauling cost to as much as 60 percent and transport time from hours to just minutes. So farmers could sell vegetables and other perishable crops fresh and in good shape and this mean’s extra profit.

Compared to farm-to-market roads which are far more expensive to construct and maintain in the upland, tramline has lower investment cost. Its design is also simple, hence it is easy to construct, operate, and maintain.

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A revolutionary product has been developed by an American firm, SenesTech, Inc., which will virtually sterilize the female rats so that they will not reproduce. The product is called ContraPest that is claimed to be the first of its kind in the world, a non-toxic product that can dramatically decrease rat population in rice fields.

The product is not yet available in the market but Dr. Timothy Vail, vice president of manufacturing and regulations, and George Siegel, vice president of business development for SenesTech, visited the Philippine government officials in Manila recently to discuss field testing and regulatory registration of the technology so that the product can be manufactured and marketed in the Philippines. The product will then be sold throughout  Southeast Asia to address the major problem of rice field rats.

During the visit, Sunil Sutlani, president of Indian Drug Distributors Inc., was appointed as an exclusive agent to act on behalf of SenesTech in order to make formal applications to the Philippine FDA and associated government agencies for compliance testing that will lead to regulatory approval of the product.

ContraPest is not a poison. It will not kill the rats that will eat it. But the female rat that will eat ContraPest will not be able to give birth because it causes reproductive infertility.

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Rice farmers in Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Pangasinan and Pampanga whose newly-harvested rice crops were damaged by Typhoon “Ondoy” are reaping the benefits of the flat bed dryers distributed to them through irrigators associations by the Bureau of Post-harvest Research and Extension (BPRE), which is attached to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

According to BPRE, 335 units of flat bed dryers were distributed to irrigators associations in Region 1 and Region IV-B. These dryers can dry a volume of 6,080 tons of wet palay daily. A total of 1,188 units of the drying machines have already been installed in practically all producing regions of the country, the BPRE said.

It said in Nueva Ecija alone, a total of 88 units of flat bed dryers were distributed to rice farmers.

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Davao City – International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group has been showing Davao agribusiness leaders how Rainforest Alliance certification can benefit the entire supply chain, including big companies, small farming communities, regulators, and consumers.

The internationally recognized certification of sustainable farming practices gives qualifying farms the right to use the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal, which guarantees consumers that the farms take good care of their workers, communities, and the environment. Certification reduces costs and increases savings for producers by assuring efficient, effective, and environment-friendly farm practices.

“Whether reforesting old farmland, building schools and medical facilities, or providing farm workers with just wages, the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal indicates sustainable practices and a sustainable future,” said Sabrina Vigilante, Rainforest Alliance’s chief of marketing.

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His work as a government employee didn’t stop Benjamin R. Lao from pursuing his first love, which is farming. In fact, he plans to retire early to concentrate on his farm in Eman, a barangay of Bansalan, Davao del Sur.

“My first love is farming,” this Gawad Saka 2008 national awardee for coconut farming told the press corps of the Department of Agriculture (DA) Region VI. After all, his parents were both farmers and he grew up in a surrounding where people were planting rice, corn, and several other crops.

The Lao family owns about 40 hectares of land. In 1998, his mother divided the land equally among the eight children.

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