Agriculture Business Week

One municipal head who is really serious about propagating organic farming in his town is Mayor Leoncio “Jun” Evasco of Maribojoc, Bohol. We met him at an organic agriculture presentation at the Natural Farming Institute in Panabo City last March 19.

The presentation was attended by the head of the Agricultural Training Institute, officials of TESDA, Department of Trade and Industry executives, farmers, Davao City officials, and other stakeholders.

Mayor Evasco is in the process of setting up the facilities for a demo farm and training center for organic agriculture in Brgy. Bayacaba, Maribojoc. He has already planted 10 kinds of grasses and several leguminous shrubs on two hectares that will be used as feed for the farm animals. The buildings for housing goats and pigs, offices, and other facilities are already up. A fermentation house where the fermented juices of fruits, vegetables, and other plants will be processed for use in organic farming is being constructed. He says training will start in the middle of this year when everything is ready.

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Posted on February 22nd, 2013 under Farming, Organic. Tags: Farming, Organic. Comments: None

You would think that 2005 Davao del Sur Outstanding Farmer, 2006 Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resources Research and Development Magsasakang Siyentista, 2008-Department of Agriculture (DA) Outstanding Farmer, 2009 Micro-Entrepreneur of the Year, and DA Outstanding Farmer in the Organic Farming Category multi-awardee Benjamin “Ben” R Lao would fear nothing when it comes to farming.

But he is very grateful that he planted nitrogen-fixing species on his farm such as Flemingia macrophylla, Desmodium rensonii, and Indigofera anil in order to help restore the fertility of the soil. That’s because the soil had become so infertile, not even cogon grass would grow on it. There were coconut trees growing there which yielded 400-600 nuts every three months; after the nitrogen-fixing species were planted, yield increased dramatically to 15,000 nuts per quarter. In addition, the nitrogen-fixers are also good forage for his livestock; the legumes contain as much as 16 percent crude protein.

What caused the soil’s infertility in the first place? Soil erosion. “I am thankful to the Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC) for helping me realize (the importance of protecting) my soil from erosion,” Ben said in an exclusive interview. “By doing so, I was able to increase my coconut production. In addition, the leaves of the various nitrogen-fixing species even help restore the fertility of my soil.”

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Posted on February 20th, 2013 under Farming. Tags: Farmer, Farming. Comments: None

One municipal head who is really serious in propagating organic farming in his own town is Mayor Leoncio “Jun” Evasco of Maribojoc, Bohol. We met him at an organic agriculture presentation at the Natural Farming Institute in Panabo City last March 19.

The presentation was attended by the head of the Agricultural Training Institute, officials of TESDA, Department of Trade and Industry executives, farmers, Davao City officials and other stakeholders.

Mayor Evasco is in the process of setting up the facilities for a demo farm and training center on organic agriculture in Brgy. Bayacaba, Maribojoc. He has already planted 10 kinds of grasses and several leguminous shrubs on two hectares that will be used as feed for the farm animals. The buildings for goats, pigs, office and some other facilities are already up. In the process of construction is a fermentation house where the fermented juices of fruits, vegetables and other plants will be processed for use in organic farming. He says training will start middle of this year when everything will already be in place.

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Posted on April 3rd, 2012 under Farming, Organic. Tags: Farming, Mayor, Organic. Comments: 2

When Edwin Jimenez, 61, of Mabilo, New Washington, Aklan, decided to stop using chemical pesticides, he did not only get higher yield and a premium price for his produce. He was able to cut production costs while continuously innovating and creating ways that would also benefit his fellow farmers and the environment.

Edwin has been into farming for the last nine years, taking charge of the 1.6-hectare family-owned farm which was initially planted to fruit trees and vegetables. Two years ago, he went into rice farming. In between farm works, he devotes part of his time to the family’s refrigeration and air-conditioning business in Kalibo, which is a few kilometers away from his farm.

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Posted on March 1st, 2012 under Farming. Tags: Aklan, Farming, Yields. Comments: 3

Dr. Jayson Canson is an opthalmologist and plastic surgeon who loves farming. Despite his buys schedule practicing his medical profession, he is undertaking his own farming projects in a portion of St. Martha Farms in Teresa, Rizal, where his parents run a 70,000 head poultry contract breeding operation and a Pangasius hatchery.

Piggery is a pet project of the medical doctor. He has a number of breeders which are selected. One acquisition is a Pietrain sow with a small percentage of Duroc blood. This particular sow gave birth to 23 piglets, 21 of which survived. Some of the piglets were distributed to other mother pigs for nursing.

He also does his own experiment, one of which is crossing the native pig with the white imported breeds. One of the offspring of the native pig was made into lechon during the farm’s Christmas party last year.

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Posted on August 29th, 2010 under Farming. Tags: Doctor, Farming. Comments: 3

The farming systems and Soil Resources Institute(FSSRI) of the University of the Philippine Los Banos(UPLB) has bagged the 2009 Global Development Marketplace(DM2009) competetive grant.

This competitive grant for innovation in development is administered by the World Bank and sponsored by the World Bank Institute, Global Environment Facility (GEF), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

With the theme “100 Ideas to Save the Planet,” the competition challenged participants to come up with an idea from their own communities to help save the planet and its people from the effects of climate change.

There were over 1,700 project entries from all over the world. Out of these, 100 finalists from 47 countries, including 8 from the Philippines, were invited to World Bank’s headquarters in Washington DC to present their projects. And the FSSRI and 3 other Filipino groups were among the 25 participants chosen to receive grants of up to $200,000 each.

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Posted on August 1st, 2010 under Farming, Soil. Tags: Award, Farming, Soil, UPLB. Comments: None

Everytime I visit the Kaohsiung, the prefecture in southern Taiwan, my first impulse is to enjoy the fruits in season. In fact, my father-in-law is always ready with a few pieces, especially with my favorite Taiwan orange – Liu Ding, which is available almost all year round except for the winter months, and lately, their very juicy am, sweet makopa. This last Christmas break was no different.

Taiwan is now well-known the world over for its tasty fruits. Not imported but all locally-grown. My son, Julius, enjoyed the sweet Indian Jujube, juicy Gem Makopa and Carambola offered by Dr. Kan-Shu Chen, director of the Fengshan Tropical Horticultural Experiment Branch, during our recent visit. All these were developed through research and years of field improvement in production management technique and postharvest handling procedures. The Fengshan Tropical Horticultural Experiment Branch is one of;two principal research stations among eleven of the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute (TARI).

HISTORY AND MANDATE
A developed agricultural foundation, an island-wide educational system and the railway system are what the Taiwanese are thankful for to the Japanese colonizers of 50 years. Towards the end of its occupation, the Japanese established the Fengshan Tropical Horticultural Experiment Station in 1940. Initially the improvement of pineapple and vegetable production were its primary mandates. In 1981, the station was reorganized according to the Scientific Technology Development Plan issued by the Executive Yuan (equivalent to our Executive Department). The research sections were restructured into four departments, namely: tropical fruit trees, vegetable crops, plant protection, and management, and utilization department. Since then, it has become an important research center under the TARI.

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Posted on July 31st, 2010 under Fruits. Tags: Farming, Orange, Taiwan. Comments: 1

Remember the Oakwood Mutiny? The group of soldiers Magdalo protested against the irregularities in the army but they got caught, detained and charged with coup d’ etat.

Captain Laurence Louis B. Somera of the 1st Scout Ranger Regiment, Special Operations Command of the Philippine Army is one of them. Though he was granted conditional pardon by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo after being detained for more than four years, he was discharged from the military.

He was really disheartened by this as he had been with the military for almost 17 years. Next to his family, his military service matters to him the most.

Today, the 39-year-old captain is very happy with his new engagement and that’s farming.

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Posted on July 28th, 2010 under Farming. Tags: Farming, Magdalo, Soldier. Comments: 4

At 29, Romeo Yapit is awarded Outstanding Young Farmer of the Philippines. No doubt that’s quite an achievement.

This enterprising young farmer of Purac, Sinait, Ilocos Sur started fanning in 2002. He had to stop his schooling as he had to support his family for his father had a heart attack. He was a second year mechanical engineering student then.

Thinking of a marketable crop that would not consume much soil nutrients, Yapit observed that planting different vegetables year round and watermelon after rice was profitable.

This might be the solution, he told himself. So with the help of his brother Jerome, Yapit planted their 8,000 square meter land to various vegetables including eggplant and tomato. And he has been right; his strategy has worked out.

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Posted on July 20th, 2010 under Farming, Rice, Vegetables. Tags: Farming, Rice, Rice Hull, Tomatoes. Comments: 9

Here’s a unique real estate venture. Lot buyers use only up to 20 percent of the land area for the house they will build and the rest of the property will be utilized for growing food crops or ornamental plants.

Interesting?

That’s the contract that the Manila East Lakeview Farms (MELF) makes with buyers of its lots in its development area in Barangay San Guillermo in Morong, Rizal. The contract also requires buyers to submit in the soonest possible time their detailed development plan, and to immediately fence their lot.

A division of Prime East Properties Inc., MELF has sold 55 to 60 percent of the initially developed 36.6 hectares of the consolidated 300 hectares of hilly land in San Guillermo, says farm manager Bobby Mandac.

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Posted on July 18th, 2010 under Farming, Vegetables. Tags: Farming, Real Estate, Veggies. Comments: 2

Rolly Lagaya, the successful poultry farmer from San Jose, Batangas shares with us his “innovative” tale of success.

Arapid change is now sweeping the Philippine poultry industry. The sector—which is predominantly a backyard affair—has now stepped up with nearly all farms operating at a calibre similar to that of commercial operations. Nowadays, rarely you would see small raisers sowing corn grains to feed the chickens roaming around their backyard and housing them in bamboo or wood-made cages. Minute operators now house their birds in modern fabricated domiciles and fed those using calibrated feeders and waterers. The evolution, according to pundits, is caused by tremendous competition in the market as well as the fast-paced and ever changing lifestyle of consumers.

Rolly Lagaya, owner of Lagaya Farms in San Jose, Batangas is happy to be a part of the sector’s revolution. An engineer by profession, he has established his farm together with his parents in 1975 as a mere family business. Started with 500 heads, the farm has now 200,000 birds in tow and producing 175,000 eggs per day. “Our farm’s expansion has been continuous. Whenever there’s a new technology, we always adapt it. We were the first farm in Batangas that has elevated the poultry houses. Unlike other farmers, we are always open to new technologies. We love new discoveries.”

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Posted on June 28th, 2010 under Entrepreneurs, Farming. Tags: Entrepreneurs, Farm, Farming. Comments: 11

With the current El Nino that we are experiencing and the future dry spells that we will have brought about by global warming, a clarion call to all of us for water conservation is in order.

When we speak of water, we refer to freshwater that is not only essential for life but also a “life blood” for agriculture, industry and domestic households. Being a limited resource in our planet, water is becoming more and more precious because of our population growth, pollution and climate change.

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Posted on June 7th, 2010 under Farming. Tags: Farming, Vermic, Water. Comments: 1

By adopting recommended farm methods, farmers in Agbannawag, Rizal, Nueva Ecija are able to increase rice production every season.

Thanks to the Technical Cooperation Project 3 (TCP3) of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), farmers learned of recommended farm practices, resulting in significant increase in yield and income.

The project has 40 fanner-beneficiaries. They were classified either as farmer-partners (FP) or participating farmers (PF).

TCP 3 primarily aimed to compare yield and production cost of technology demonstration farms of farmer-partners (TDF-FP) with the farms of the PFs. The FPs did all the recommended methods, while the PFs were allowed to choose farm practices they would want to do.

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Posted on June 1st, 2010 under Farming, Rice. Tags: Farming, PhilRice, Rice. Comments: None

Filipino farmers who are searching for a system that is not only environment friendly but improves their income as well should look no further. The answer to their quest: organic farming.

In Mindanao, at least 120 hectares of rice farms in Sultan Mastura, Maguindanao is planted to organic rice. It is an agriculture practice that is already gaining ground around the country’s second largest island as many farmers have now seen the sweet harvest of those who went ahead of them and practiced what was earlier was less popular.

“Organic agriculture is the answer,” pointed out Jessica Reyes-Cantos of the Manila-based Rice Watch and Action Network. “It won’t only retain soil productivity but it can make farming viable. If farmers will have additional income from their land they will continue to plant rice.”

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Posted on May 31st, 2010 under Farming, Organic. Tags: Farming, Mindanao, Organic. Comments: 9