Agriculture Business Week

It is not unusual when a farmer from Luzon or from Visayas relocates to Mindano for good. What is quite unusual is when a Mindanaoan goes to Luzon and settles there to do his brand of farming.

That’s exactly the case of Jose Paquibongan, an agriculturist born in Bohol but who stayed in Mindanao for several years after graduating from college. Mindoro farmers he has been helping consider him a Mindanaoan rather than a Boholano. Joe finished an agriculture course at the Bohol State College in Bilar in 1984. Immediately after graduation, he went to Mati, Davao Oriental, to help a relative manage a diversified farm where they had coconut, coffee, cacao, guava and farm animals like hogs and goats.

For a number of years, he also worked as rice technician of the Farm Systems Development Corporation in Tagum, Davao del Norte. That was a government agency which was dissolved after President Corazon Aquino took over the helm of the government.

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Posted on September 7th, 2009 under Farming, Technology. Tags: Corn, Durabloom, Farming, Mindanao, Mindoro, Rice, Technology. Comments: 1

Dr. Davide couldn’t forget what a high-ranking agriculture official told him when he presented his FTSP proposal for possible support. He was told that his project was good but he should not undertake it in Cebu because Cebu has barren soil and that it is not suited for agriculture. The government official suggested that he carry it out in Bohol instead.

That suggestion only served as a big challenge to Dr. Davide. That’s precisely why he wanted to help the farmers in his province so they could improve the productivity of the poor soil through scientific methods. He has thought to himself that “there’s no such thing as barren soils, only barren minds.”

The training of participants consists of three phases. Those who can participate are men and women from 18 to 60 years old who at least know how to read and write. They should own a piece of land and should have been farming in the previous three years.

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Posted on August 25th, 2009 under Farming. Tags: Cebu, Durabloom, Farmers, Fertilizer, Soil. Comments: 1

In October last year, Gov. Victor Yap officially launched the ‘Natural Tarlac’ program which aims to make the province a major producer of organic farm products. Organic farming, of course, involves the growing of crops without the use of synthetic chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Instead, farmers use bio-organic fertilizers, botanical pesticides, beneficial microorganisms, and other techniques of natural farming. Livestock raisers, on the other hand, don’t give antibiotics to their pigs, chickens and other farm animals.

The governor has good reasons for wanting the farmers to get into organic farming. For one, there is an increasing trend towards the consumption of organically grown food products. Organic products command a higher price in the market and this will enable farmers to earn more from farming. Besides being safer for the farmers, they can save on production inputs because chemical fertilizers, pesticides and veterinary drugs have become very expensive.

Recently, we had occasion to visit some of the organic farmers in Tarlac in the company of provincial agriculturist Edwina Tabamo and former provincial agriculturist and now consultant Lucrecia G. Ilaga. We visited the bio-organic fertilizer factory of Dr. Ronaldo Sumaoang in Sta. Ignacia, Tarlac which produces Durabloom that is now used by many farmers in the province. We also visited the organic papaya plantation of Sta. Ignacia Vice Mayor Reynaldo Modomo who also manufactures his own organic fertilizer.

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Posted on July 13th, 2009 under Farming, Organic. Tags: Durabloom, Organic, Tarlac. Comments: 6

Don’t look now, but a number of things are happening to improve the income of Virginia tobacco farmers not only in the Ilocos but also elsewhere. One is the dissemination of two new varieties that produce higher-priced flue0cured leaves, are higher yielding and are also more resistant to pests and diseases.

Another development is an innovation in the flue-curing barn that uses strong carton as siding in the upper portion instead of the more expensive materials.

A third technology is the use of the bio-organic fertilizer Durabloom in combination with special formulations of chemical fertilizers which results in bigger and thicker leaves.

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Posted on May 28th, 2009 under Other Crops. Tags: Durabloom, Tobacco. Comments: 1

Farmers in Gloria, Oriental Mindoro are fascinated by the initial performance of the bio-organic fertilizer Durabloom on their crops. It was introduced to them only last September.

For instance, Conrado “Rady” Marasigan, 61, was so proud to show to us the fruits of his tomato crop which he fertilized only with Durabloom. He planted one-fourth hectare and used the Diamante and Elegante varieties of East-West Seeds. Using a small can of sardines to measure, he applied one can of Durabloom as basal fertilizer mixed with the soil before transplanting, and he was amazed by the results.

Rady has been harvesting every other day since January 15. At the time of our visit in early March, he said he must have harvested about 6 tons already and yet much more had to be harvested. On the day of our visit alone, he harvested about 450 kilos at breaker stage, but the price has already gone down to P 10 per kilo from P8 per kilo during the first few weeks of harvest.

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Posted on May 25th, 2009 under Organic, Vegetables. Tags: Durabloom, Fertilizer, Organic, Tomato, Veggies. Comments: None

BANANA
Garces also uses Durabloom on 6 has of Cavendish banana and is impressed on its performance at nine months old. In the last week of February this year, he had already harvested 2 has of new plants which produced 1.3 boxes per bunch. Each box weighs 13.5 kg.

He brought us to the field of a fellow member of the Pangantucan Banana Growers Cooperative before we went to his field. He said that at seven months old the plants of his fellow member still had no fruits. This is why Garces is convincing the other 19 members of the cooperative to use Durabloom instead of using a cheap material made from wood shavings and other organic materials but without chicken manure.

Garces said it is more advantageous to use Durabloom since it is made entirely from chicken manure, which is completely decomposed and odorless. He said other materials have an unpleasant odor.

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Posted on May 21st, 2009 under Farming, Organic. Tags: Durabloom, Farmer, Fertilizer, Organic. Comments: 5

Whenever farmers find a farm input beneficial to them in more ways than one, anybody can be sure that farmers will cling to it, spread the good word about it, and continue using it.

Such is the case of the bio-organic fertilizer Durabloom, which has literally spread like wild fire in Mindanao and in the Visayas as more farmers are now using it for the production of corn, sugarcane, vegetables, banana and other fruit crops. Some farmers are even combining Durabloorn with inorganic fertilizer for rice production. Menzi Farm in Bukidnon is using Durabloorn to fertilize anthurium, durian, mangosteen, lanzones and rambutan.

One big proof of the popularity of Durabloom, which is produced by Novatech Agri-Food Industries, is the increasing order of farm supply store owners in Mindanao who provide farm inputs to corn farmers on credit. This is because farmers request for Durabloom. Farm inputs given to the farmers will be paid after the harvest.

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Posted on May 20th, 2009 under Farming, Organic. Tags: Durabloom, Farmers, Fertilizer. Comments: 3

Oscar Tolentino and Michael Tolentino are not related to each other, but both of them say their crop yields have increased with the use of the biorganic fertilizer Durabloom, which is manufactured by Novatech Agri-Foods Industries.

Oscar, 54, whose farm is in Paniqui and Guimba, Nueva Ecija, started using Durabloom only last year but before the provincial government launched its “Tarlac Natural” program on the use of organic fertilizer.

On the other hand, Michael, 55, has been using this bio-organic fertilizer on rice and corn in Camiling since four years ago when his aunt, Pura Tolentino, insisted that he use it to minimize cost of production and increase yields.

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Posted on April 20th, 2009 under Farming, Fruits, Organic, Poultry, Vegetables. Tags: Durabloom, Eggplant, Farmer, Organic, Papaya, Tarlac. Comments: 2

Our second visit to the farm of Victor Valledor in Brgy. Labting, San Juan, Ilocos Sur confirmed our earlier observation on the effects of Durabloom bio-organic fertilizer on flue-cured tobacco.

Vic, an agriculture graduate of the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU), is a contract grower of Trans Manila Inc. and his farm is just opposite the Barangay Demo Farm of the provincial government of Ilocos Sur.

In 1 hectare planted with flue-cured tobacco, Vic applied 20 bags Durabloom as basal fertilizer and side dressed 9,000 sq. m. with the full inorganic fertilizer recommendation consisting of the following: 4 bags 18-46-0, 4 bags 13-0-46, 3 bags 7-1423, 2 bags 0-0-50, and 1 bag 21-0-0 (ammonium sulfate). In 1,000 sq. m., however, he reduced the inorganic fertilizer by 20 percent.

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Posted on April 19th, 2009 under Plant. Tags: Durabloom, Tobacco. Comments: 1

Based on what we saw in a farmer’s field in Brgy. Labting, San Juan, Ilocos Sur last January 15, the bio-organic fertilizer Durabloom may very well be considered also good for flue-cured tobacco.

In one of his fields where the tobacco plants were already 40 days old after transplanting, 45-year-old Victor Valledor, an agriculture graduate of the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU), applied 20 bags of Durabloom per hectare. His tobacco plants became robust and were growing well.

In another field where tobacco plants were already 60 days old after transplanting, he replaced one-third of the inorganic fertilizer requirement for flue-cured tobacco with Durabloom. He observed that his crop grew faster and had bigger leaves than those applied completely with inorganic fertilizer.

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Posted on April 11th, 2009 under Organic. Tags: Durabloom, Fertilizer, Tobacco. Comments: None

It will not come as a surprise if the whole Bantayan Island near the northern tip of Cebu province will be energized soon by the Wellisa Farms using chicken manure as energy source. Poultry and hog farms, including those of Wellisa Farms, do the landscape of Bantayan Island, which is composed of Sta. Fe, Madridejos and Bantayan.

It is now evident that Wellisa Farms, which is owned by Wellington Chanlim, is already moving towards energizing its farms as it continues to expand its operations. Its hog farms in the Island are already energized with electric power generated by biogas digesters. Water from the hog manure is recycled and used for washing the pigs as well as their pigpens. Through its biogas digesters, Wellisa Farms saves a lot of money in its operation.

It should be recalled that Wellisa Farms was the first agribusiness venture in the Country that received the Green-E Award last year because of the biogas project in its poultry and hog farm in Consolacion, Cebu. The energy generated by the biogas digester is used for the manufacture of egg trays.

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Posted on January 12th, 2009 under Farming, Livestock, Poultry. Tags: Durabloom, Farming, Wellisa Farm. Comments: 1

For more than two years now, farmers in at least 11 towns of Bulacan and Pampanga have been getting higher yields and net income from their rice, corn, watermelon and vegetable crops. These are due to the bio-organic fertilizer Durabloom, which is made of pure chicken manure.

Liza Sacdalan of Plaridel, Bulacan, said it all started in a seminar held on Dec. 5, 2004 that was attended by officers of the Angat Maasim River Irrigation System Confederation of Irrigators Associations. In that seminar, Dr. Rene Sumaoang, president and general manager of Novatech Agri-Food Industries, talked- lengthily on bio-organic fertilizer Durabloom, which he himself formulated after working as vice president of a private company for several years.

Immediately after the seminar, the heads of the various irrigators associations ordered a total of 200 bags, which were delivered in Plaridel five days later.

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Posted on January 10th, 2009 under Organic, Rice. Tags: Bulacan, Durabloom, Farmer, Fertilizer, Organic, Pampanga. Comments: 2

It appears that continued application of bio-organic fertilizer Durabloom has accumulated effects on the improvement of soil structure and, texture, as well as on the soil microbial population.

At the Hacienda Sta. Teresita in Talisay City, Negros Occidental, cane yield has been increasing from 80 tons a hectare (t/ha) in the first year to 100 t/ha in the second year to 120 t/ha last milling season. What’s more, the picul sugar per ton of cane (PS/TC) has almost unbelievably increased to 2, resulting in higher sugar production.

We went around the plantation recently and what we saw was clear proof that this bio-organic fertilizer is really one of a kind, so to speak.

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Posted on January 6th, 2009 under Organic. Tags: Durabloom, Fertilizer, Organic. Comments: 5

Two graduates of medical technology residing in Padre Garcia, Batangas have become successful farmers with nothing but high praises for the bioorganic fertilizer Durabloom, which is manufactured by Novatech Agri-Foods Industries.

These farmer-innovators took the lead in Batangas in using Durabloom in a large scale on their sugarcane crops, and now vow to use it completely on their crops next year as they expect a big increase in their cane and sugar yields.

Indeed, the sugarcane crops of Oscar A. Tagalicud, 55, and Imelda OlaveLindog, 51, in Brgy. San Felipe have become the envy of many cane planters in Batangas as they now see the luxuriant growth of their crops. Barely five to six months have passed since the crops were applied with Durabloom but their canes have had a diameter of almost 1.5 inches towards the end of last August.

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Posted on January 2nd, 2009 under Entrepreneurs, Farming, Livestock, Ornamental, Poultry. Tags: Anthuriums, Durabloom, Entrepreneur, Farming, Fertilizer, Pigs/Hogs, Poultry. Comments: 1