Agriculture Business Week

The 19th Hog Convention and Trade Exhibits will be staged on April 8 to 10 at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in Davao City, hosted by the Davao Hog Farmers Association, Inc. It is organized annually by the Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines or ProPork (formerly the National Federation of Hog Farmers, Inc.).

This year’s theme, “Ensuring survival through efficiency and improved pork production,” will educate participants with practical and technical information and tips from experts – helping them secure the safety and profitability of their farms.

The annual event – the biggest and longest-running trade exhibition focusing on the swine industry, gathers thousands of commercial and backyard hog raisers from all over Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

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Posted on March 28th, 2010 under Events, Livestock. Tags: Convention, Davao, Events, Hog, Pigs, Trade. Comments: 6

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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Posted on October 20th, 2009 under Farming. Tags: Certification, Davao, Farming, IFC, Mindanao, Sustainable Farming. Comments: None

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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Posted on September 22nd, 2009 under Farming. Tags: Barren Land, Davao, Farm, Gawad Saka, Soil. Comments: 1

More and more people are getting interested in natural farming. To make a profitable operation, you can make your inputs like fermented juices for your plants as well as your animals.

One of the fermented products used in natural farming is the so-called Oriental Herbal Nutrient or OHN, which is a natural pest repellant in growing your crops. It is also used in enhancing the nutrients of livestock feed.

Andry Lim of Helen’s Farm in Davao City, a strong advocate of natural farming, gave us the procedure on how to make your own OHN. It is effective in strengthening the immune system of plants as well as animals.

The ingredients used are 4 kilos of crushed ginger, 4 kilos of crushed garlic, 3 kilos of muscovado sugar; 10 liters of gin or liquor 30 to 40 proof. Use a 5-gallon jar for fermenting, preferably glass or ceramic.

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Posted on July 7th, 2009 under Farming. Tags: Davao, Farming, Herbal Nutrient, OHN. Comments: 4

A number of enterprising farmers are doing their brand of natural farming in Brgy. Los Amigos in Tugbok district, Davao City. They are showing how one can succeed in farming without using the conventional means of growing crops, like controlling pests and diseases with chemical pesticides. They don’t use chemical fertilizers either, which don’t only make the soil acidic, they are also very expensive.

Among the natural farming practitioners we met during our visit to Davao City are Dante Delima an agriculture graduate from Cebu, and Wilfredo “Tibaw” Santander, a commerce graduate from Davao City. Both have been previously connected with non-government organizations (NGOs) that have been engaged in community development, particularly advocating natural farming.

When they were connected with the NGOs, they went around lecturing and teaching the basics of natural farming. However. they yearned to practice the techniques they were teaching to the other farmers. So they opted to go into natural farming on their own in 2005.

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Posted on April 22nd, 2009 under Farming, Organic. Tags: Davao, Los Amigos, Natural Farming. Comments: None

Davao City- If there’s one thing that veggies growers here need to do to capture a bigger share of the expanding domestic market and to make their produce more globally competitive, that is to apply Good Agriculture Practices (GAP).

GAP is a set of farming practices that encompass all stages of the food production chain- and conform to internationally-accepted standards for the production and exportation of fresh agricultural products. GAP for vegetable production focuses on the judicious use of agrochemicals, worker’s health and safety practices, and appropriate harvest and postharvest handling techniques.

The Vegetable Industry Council for Southern Mindanao (VICSMIN) has been promoting GAP among vegetable growers. Its president, Roger Gualberto, said that “VICSMIN’s thrust is to encourage local vegetable farmers [to use GAP] and to make them understand better the health and economic benefits [that they could get from it]. He also said that Mindanao farmers need to be educated on the importance of food safety, which is the heart of the GAP system.

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Posted on February 9th, 2009 under Vegetables. Tags: Davao, GAP, Veggies. Comments: 1

Davao City – Growing bananas for banana chips production has become a more lucrative agribusiness, now that growers have direct access to processors and improved technologies.

This is the result of the training and market linkage assistance provided by USAID’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program. GEM has provided technical support, which includes seminars on best farming practices and effective pest and disease management, and has facilitated market linkages between banana farmers and banana chips processors.

The Banana Industry Development Association in Talisayan, Misamis Oriental, for instance, have directly marketed its produce to processing plants. Its chairperson, George Yacapin, said that “[the link] has really improved the standing of the banana growers in the supply chain.” And through this, the member-farmers, of course, have earned bigger profits. Yacapin added that their commitment now is to share what they have learned from GEM’s training to other banana growers.

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Posted on February 9th, 2009 under Fruits. Tags: Banana, Davao, Fruits. Comments: 9

In our recent trip around the country, we noticed two laudable reforestation efforts in Occidental Mindoro and Tagum City, Davao del Norte.

In Occidental Mindoro, we noted that strips were made on the sides of mountains which appear to be extremely difficult to grow tree species. Hardly can one see large tree species growing on the mountainsides. These strips were used for planting some tree species. If we are not mistaken, ipil-ipil was used as reforestation species. We hope for the success of this effort.

In Tagum City, the drainage canals along the highway have been planted with bakawan, which were growing luxuriantly. It appears that water in the drainage canals is saline, which is favorable for the growth of bakawan. If this reforestation effort becomes successful, the drainage canals would turn out into a valuable resource where some aquatic species could be raised.

Posted on January 30th, 2009 under Forest Trees. Tags: Davao, Mindoro, Reforestration, Tagum, Trees. Comments: None

Davao has carved its own comfortable niche in the world of flowers and has earned the distinction as the orchid capital of the Philippines.

Davao is known for its fine beaches, exotic fruits and endangered wildlife species. At the mere mention of the city, the vision of exquisite and varied orchids would immediately come into people’s minds from across the country and around the world.

In fact, Davao has carved its own comfortable niche in the world of flowers and has earned the distinction as the orchid capital of the Philippines. Orchids in the Philippines come in an amazing array of shapes, sizes and colors. Most grow only in old-growth forest, often on branches of huge trees dozens of meters above the forest floor.

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Posted on January 15th, 2009 under Ornamental. Tags: Davao, Flowers, Orchids, Ornamental. Comments: 9