Agriculture Business Week

Providing farmers quality bolos, scythes, trowels, sickles, and spades has been Roberto Parcon’s business for 20 years now and he never regrets being into it.

It’s because this blacksmith of Brgy. Puerto Princesa in Barotac Viejo, Iloilo believes that if farmers use quality tools, farming would be easier and faster, and hence they would save on the cost of labor.

He has been keeping this in mind since he was still an apprentice of the old blacksmith of their village. He later set up his own shop with basic equipments such as forge, a hand cranked grinder, and a set of mallets and makeshift anvil.
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Posted on August 16th, 2008 under SPOTlight. Tags: Blacksmith, Farmers. Comments: None

Success never comes easy to anyone. The elements of success are always there, but one has to work hard to achieve it.

Two banana farmers in Poblacion in Bagumbayan, Sultan Kudarat already did. One of them is 53-year-old Rodolfo Sarmiento of Purok Osmena 1. Nong Rudy, as he is fondly called by his friends, has been farming all his life. And with the two-hectare land he inherited from his parents, there’s no reason why he should astray from farming.

His main dream in life is to live in bounty. But due to lack of knowledge and linkage in crop production, his farming did not offer much potential for growth then.

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Posted on August 11th, 2008 under Fruits. Tags: Banana, Farmers. Comments: None

Mr. Vicente Lim Jr. modestly talks about how he saved a corporation from disaster as he looks back at a rich and interesting career.

It was once a historical misunderstanding that I had when I realized whom I would be discoursing with; witty and candid remarks I reckon, and this was exactly what a day was with  Mr. Vicente Lim Jr., who very much described himself with down-to-earth affirmations when his accomplishments tell otherwise.

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Posted on July 24th, 2008 under Agri Heroes. Tags: Farmers, Technology. Comments: None

Critical in developing any agricultural program is the resulting income for farmers. At the end of the day, the measure of success of adopted program is viewed in how much economic benefits have come the way of our agriconstituents.

It is important to take into account two distinct ways of addressing the economic improvements or increasing income of farmers.

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Posted on July 19th, 2008 under Special Report. Tags: Farmers. Comments: None

Most farmers in Tabacao, Talavera, Nueva Ecija plant hybrid rice, particularly the SL 8H variety, only during the dry season, and they are convinced that it has made a great difference in their lives.

“It has helped a lot those who would like to progress,” said Romulo Domingo who has been planting this variety since the dry season of 2004-2005, the first time it was commercially planted in the barangay. Romulo, 67, is also a board member of the Nagkakaisang Magsasaka Agricultural Primary Multipurpose Cooperative in their barangay.

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Posted on July 16th, 2008 under Rice. Tags: Farmers, Rice. Comments: None

It’s very unfortunate that there is a lack of agricultural technicians or agricultural extension workers in the country since they play a significant role in the enhancement of agricultural development by educating farmers on new farm technologies.

This problem happens in almost all regions but it is worst in the Cordillera. According to a survey by the Agricultural Training Institute of the Department of Agriculture (DA), some municipalities in the Cordillera have only one or two technicians. In Region II, the ratio of technicians to farmers is 1:500. Obviously, says Velentino Perdido, DA Regional Field Unit II assistant regional director and regional coordinator of the GMA Rice Program, one technician cannot attend to such a large number of farmers.

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Posted on July 4th, 2008 under Special Report. Tags: Farmers. Comments: None

Farmers really have the final say on the, fate of any crop variety, as they cling to the varieties that meet their expectations and discard those that fail to satisfy them. Such is the case of four Bukidnon women corn farmers who continue using Bioseed corn varieties.

They are Erlinda “Ging Ging” Gungob of Barangay Mabunga and Judica Berdon of Barangay Salimbalan, both in Baungon town.

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Posted on June 28th, 2008 under Corn/Maize. Tags: Corn, Farmers. Comments Off