Agriculture Business Week

Who could have thought that a fishball vendor would later turn into a millionaire?

By following her gut-feel, Desiree “Daisy” Duran, has become one of the most successful vegetable growers of Basuit, San Ildefonso, Bulacan today.

From seeds . . .

While she only finished elementary, it never hindered her determination to learn, to be an entrepreneur, and to succeed. She has proven time and time again that she is no ordinary woman for she knows what she wants and goes out of her way to get it. Before she discovered the benefits of growing vegetables, Daisy sold fishballs and isaw as well as other grocery items to Basuit locals to augment the income of their household.

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The Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC) Foundation, Inc. recommends the following steps in producing our own seeds.

In Genesis chapter 1, 1 verse 30, God told Adam and Eve, “I give you every green plant for food.” And it was so. The propagation of plants is basically divided into two types: the sexual (or propagation by seeds) and the asexual (or propagation using vegetative parts or plants). Among the two types, seeds are the most important.

“Seeds are many things,” wrote Victor R. Boswell, author of The Importance of Seeds. “Above all else, they are a way of survival of their species. They are a way by which embryonic life can be almost suspended and then revived to new development – even years after the parents are dead and gone.”

No wonder, Filipino farmers who plant vegetables, beans, pulses and cereals are planting seeds for their next crop season. This is the reason why the Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC) Foundation, Inc., through its several years of experience, is urging farmers to produce their own seeds.

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The East-West Seed Company recently received from SGS Philippines its ISO 9001:2008 certificate for having complied with internationally accepted quality management system (QMS) standards.

An ISO team consisting of East-West managers and staff was formed to facilitate the attainment of the ISO certificate. The team was headed by Dr. Mary Ann Sayoc, the company’s general manager. Members included Daisy M. Caraos as management representative; Martin R. Hinlo, deputy management representative; Irene M. Sion, document controller; Joseph C. Fajardo, internal quality auditor; Patty C. Fortu, training and awareness leader; and Frank T. Mallari, measurement and calibration of ISO consultants. Robere & Associates served as partner-consultant in the project.

The East-West Seed Company is the first vegetable seed company in the Philippines to receive an ISO certification.

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What started as a seed company focused on breeding sorghum some 25 years ago has now become a major player in the seed industry as it has diversified into many other high-value crops, especially tropical vegetables.

This is the Allied Botanical Corporation organized by a then youthful business-minded guy named Willy Co who believed in the usefulness of sorghum, a hardy grain crop that could take the place of corn in livestock and poultry feeds.

While sorghum remains as a major interest to this day, the company has gone a long way in producing its own hybrids as well as selections of open-pollinated varieties. It is conducting its research and development activities in a 23-hectare experimental farm in Tayug, Pangasinan.

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Hybrid rice seeds are produced by planting male and female parental lines in rows next to each other and allowing them to cross-pollinate. These are harvested from the female plant, which are then planted for hybrid rice cultivation.

Hybrid rice seed production (HRSP) is a tedious yet rewarding endeavor. Hybrid seeds sell at a minimum of about P60 per kilogram. A one-hectare farm that produces 1,500 kg hybrid seeds will have a gross sales of P90,000 while the same field if planted with commercial rice yielding 5,000 kg will have gross sales of about P65,000 based on the current price of paddy rice. While HRSP is more costly than commercial rice planting, the returns would justify the added cost.

However, not all regions and seasons are favorable for HRSP. It is not recommended for wet season planting. So far, there are only two major provinces/regions in the Philippines identified by PhilRice suitable for HRSP- Davao Oriental in Mindanao and Kalinga in Northern Luzon. In fact, farmer-cooperatives devoted to HRSP are in these regions, notably the Davao Oriental Seed Producers Cooperative (DOSEPCO), Kalinga Hybrid Rice Seed Producers Multi-purpose Cooperative, and the Tabuk Hybrid Rice Seed Producers Multi-purpose Cooperative. These cooperatives are stories of successful implementation of HRSP.

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With the country’s bid to be rice self sufficient by 2013, how should the government wisely allocate its resources.

The answer is in the paper “What are the sources of decade yield growth in the Philippine rice farming?” It identified the major drivers of yield growth, and these are use of quality seeds and irrigation, which the government should invest on to make the country rice selfsufficient by 2013.

Authored by Alice Mataia of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), Nelissa Jamora and Piedad Moya of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and David Dawe of UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, the paper was held as the Best Paper by the Federation of Crop Science Societies of the Philippines uring its recent Annual Scientific Conference in Silliman University.

Use of quality seeds and irrigation were found to have greatly contributed to yield growth for the past 10 years. This, Mataia said, is because the use of certified seeds and irrigation showed a “clear impact” on the income and productivity of Filipino farmers.

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Seed production is one of the profitable businesses nowadays for the simple reason that seed is basic to agriculture and hence, there would always be a need for it. More and more farmers are getting into it, particularly in Mindanao where a number of farmers are earning more from seeds than from commercial rice.

Orlando Fabila of M’lang, Cotabato for instance has shifted from commercial rice production to seed production. It started when he joined the Bureau of Plant Industry’s (BPI) training on seed production, followed by the Ginintuang Makamasa Agriculture program where he learned the appropriate technology.

His first seed harvest was a success. This retired teacher got 100 cavans or 60 kilos of certified seeds from a hectare, and he never had hard time marketing his produce as most farmers in the area plant certified seeds.

“In our area,” says Fabila, “only about 10 percent of the farmers do not use certified seeds.” And this is apparent with the uneven growth of crops.

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It is planting time once again for many corn farmers. Coming up is the wet season cropping, probably the more challenging season of the year. Along with the wet season comes a litany of issues and problems which our corn farmers will encounter, from pest and disease right after seedling emergence to harvesting(when you don’t need the rains anymore). But don’t get me wrong, I am not discouraging you from planting yellow corn at this time of the year. Let’s face it, the coming months will surely be a tough season but a good and wise farmer would know ho to deal

FIVE THINGS TO REMEMBER
Whenever new or soon-to-be corn farmers ask me about tips in growing corn, I always go back to what my mentors taught me. The following are
the five key technologies one should remember in pursuit of better profitability in corn:

1. Seed selection – choose the best adapted hybrid for your area and your needs.

2. Plant population – ensure proper planting distance; each hybrid you choose has specific recommended planting distance or seeding rate.

3. Balanced fertilization – follow the recommended fertilization rate for your field; even better would be soil analysis for your field.

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Maricopa, California – Last April, California’s largest citrus grower threatened to sue beekeepers, accusing them of letting their insects “trespass” on mandarin groves.

The growers were not afraid of being stung, they were afraid that the bees would pollinate their trees, something farmers usually want bees to do. But these trees in the San Joaquin Valley were planted to bear seedless fruit, and pollination would create seeds.

This spring, a citrus growers trade association will be lobbying the state legislature for a Seedless Mandarin Protection Act that would establish “no-fly zones” of three kilometers for hives around designated orchards.

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An Isabela seed grower shares his back story and insights on how to make a more sellable yield.

Hardwork is no stranger for entrepreneurs like Alfredo Arpagila. Apart from being a farmer in Alicia, Isabela, one of the country’s most well known granaries, Alfredo holds a valuable position at the National Food Authority (NFA) and owns a town hospital, managed by his wife doctor.

The role of a farmer was bestowed to him as far back as he was just in high school, “My parents were residents of Isabela,” he cheerily recalled. “They were farmers, so they taught me everything I know, basically-down from cultivating the soil up to harvesting. I grew up watching them work in the farm with other farmers, so as early as junior high, I already knew my agriculture. And that’s what I did with my children too,” he said.

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In areas where rainfall is unpredictable, growing rice is difficult. Farmers using the dry seeding method sow dry seeds immediately on dry soil. Seedlings, as a result, grow poorly owing to over drying of the seeds.

The Philippine Rice Research Institute (Phil Rice) -Batac in collaboration with some farmers and local government unit technicians has modified this dry direct seeding technique in growing rice.

Instead of seeding on dry soil and using completely dry seeds, PhilRice recommends the use of moist soil and pre-germinated seeds.
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While other schools are conducting studies on the production of jatropha, a plant that is eyed as an alternative source of oil, the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in Batac, Ilocos Norte has been producing jatropha seedlings. It has already produced 2 million seeldings, and these were planted in Pagudpod last November.

The seedlings are intended for a plantation establishment project of the Philippine National Oil Company-Alternative Fuels Corporation (PNOC-AFC) with the collaboration of the Burayok Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Ilocos Norte, says Dr. Jose T. Agustin, MMSU project leader of the jatropha seedling production.

In mid-September, two months after the project started, MMSU had already produced 700,000 seedlings of the green jatropha in a nursery along the highway. This variety reportedly yields more oil. To date, another nursery is being developed for the production of an additional 1.3 million hectares of jatropha to meet the requirement of the PNOC-AFC.

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A researcher from Aklan State University (ASU) in Banga, Aklan, has ,found an easy way to germinate sago palm (Metroxylon sagu) seeds for planting. Previously people found it hard to germinate seeds of this palm species which yields valuable flour as well as leaves for roofing.

He is Michael Ibisate, research coordinator of the ASU’s College of Agriculture, Forestry and Environmental Sciences, who said that sago seeds easily germinate when soaked in a swampy and muddy environment provided that they are physiologically mature.

In his experiment, Ibisate simulated the environment which favors seed germination. This resulted in one hundred percent germination of mature sago seeds after one month, he said.

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Rice and corn production in Isabela province is thriving despite the onslaught of drought and rains-thanks to the dynamic team which assures good quality seeds all over the region.

Malasin, San Mateo, Isabela-Ruel C. Gesmundo, Chief Agriculturist III of the Bureau of Plant Industry’s National Seed Quality Central Services (BPI-NSQCS) started his day earlier than usual. He woke up at 4-o’clock in the morning and headed straight to Tuguegarao City to form part of a team who will welcome and brief DA Secretary Arthur Yap on the extent of damages which the recent floods wrought to rice and corn lands in the region. He then headed back to his home base in San Mateo where, for the next four hours, he delivered a lecture on policies and guidelines on seed certification to more than 15 farmers. In between breaks, the regional chief also saw to it that the renovation of his seed laboratory is going as planned. With more paper work waiting in his office, Gesmundo remained undaunted saying that this is all part of the job.

A BS Agriculture graduate major in plant pathology from the University of the Philippine at Los Banos, Gesmundo holds two masters degrees-one in crop production from the Hebrew University in Israel and another in Development Economics from U.P. Diliman. For close to 20 years, he rose from the ranks starting as a seed pathologist in BPI’s Malate office until he reached his current post at the regional NSQCS in Isabela where he also heads its satellite office in Tuguegarao City. This background of his becomes the fulcrum from which he speaks with authority on a subject he knows inside and out-good quality seeds.

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