Agriculture Business Week

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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Four senior agriculture students at the Visayas State University in Baybay , Leyte are growing high-value vegetables provided by East-West Seed Company on 3,000 square meters allocated by the university so they could earn money for their tuition and other school expenses.

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 yielding hybrid seeds. Dr. Elizabeth Briones of VSU, on the other hand, serves as the 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.

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One strategy of successful farmers is to specialize in a crop that they have mastered to produce and to market. Just like Eleuterio “Totoy” Indic of Brgy. Sta. Elena in Tacloban.

In the last three years he has been planting sweet corn every month of the year, whether it is dry or wet season. Most farmers don’t plant sweet corn during the wet season but Totoy does because he knows how to solve the usual problems occurring during the rainy season.

His favorite variety is the Macho from East-West Seed because he says it is more sturdy than other varieties, especially during, the rainy season. Strong winds may lodge it but the plants will stand up soon after.

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