PinoyEcoFarmer

Crop Rotation on Organic Farms : A Planning Manual. Crop rotation is a critical feature of all organic cropping systems because it provides the principal mechanism for building healthy soils, a major way to control pests, and a variety of other benefits. Crop rotation means changing the type of crop grown on a particular piece of land from year to year. As used in this manual, the term includes both cyclical rotations, in which the same sequence of crops is repeated indefinitely on a field, and noncyclical rotations, in which the sequence of crops varies irregularly to meet the evolving business and management goals of the farmer. Each field has its own rotation, and, consequently, each farmer manages a set of rotations.

Good crop rotation requires long-term strategic planning. However, planning does not necessarily involve identifying which crop will be grown on a field years in advance. Indeed, such specificity may prove futile as plans become disrupted by weather, changes in the market, labor supply, and other factors. Lack of planning, however, can lead to serious problems—for example, the buildup of a soilborne disease of a critical crop, or imbalances in soil nutrients. Such problems can result in an inability to meet the demands of a carefully cultivated market or in additional labor and expense. Problems caused by faulty rotation often take several years to develop and can catch even experienced growers by surprise. In fact, rotation problems usually do not develop until well after the transition to organic cropping. Since the crops grown by organic farmers are often different and more diverse than those grown in the preceding conventional system, the organic transition itself often rotates away from the previous crops and their associated problems. Most farmers are greatly tempted to plant excessive acreage of the most profitable crop or to overuse certain fields for one type of crop. Such practices can lead to costly problems that take many years to correct. The purpose of this book is to help growers and farm advisors understand the management of crop rotations; avoid crop rotation problems; and use crop rotation to build better soil, control pests, and develop profitable farms that support satisfied families.

“The fact that I can plant a seed and it becomes a flower, share a bit of knowledge and it becomes another’s, smile at someone and receive a smile in return, are to me continual spiritual exercises”. Leo.F. Buscaglia

I was very excited and honored by the opportunity to share my knowledge on vermiculture and vermicomposting to students, teachers, parents and staff at the Bayanan Elementary School Main (BESM) in Muntinlupa City this past Saturday (January 28, 2012). The basic training was a compressed 3-hour event meant to introduce vermicomposting and set up an actual vermiculture and vermicomposting bed.

What I taught and showed them were the actual lessons that I learned in my own vermicomposting experience. The concepts were lectured in Filipino  and supplemented with research from other publications for better understanding. Among the topics covered in my presentation were definition of vermicomposting terms, considerations for the vermibed, and the advantages of vermicomposting.

Flory Tabio, the Executive Director of the Philippine Transmarine Carriers -Carlos Salinas Jr. (PTC-CSJ) Foundation – engaged in programs related to education and people empowerment; marine environmental awareness and protection; livelihood promotion; and literacy, art, music and sports development – facilitated the realization of the training as a great complement to the Foundation’s “Growing Good to Great Kids” or 3G Program that is being implemented in BESM.  The 3G Program aims to improve basic education primarily by feeding nutritious meals to severely malnourished pupils. Organic wastes from the feeding program (such as vegetable peelings and desiccated coconut) which were previously just thrown away, can now be processed by the worms as organic fertilizer (vermicast) and used in the school garden. The worms and vermicast can be eventually shared with the wider community.

It was good to know from the participants themselves that it did conform to what they expected at the onset of the training. The brief lectures and actual hands-on exercise was very helpful in making them understand what vermicomposting is all about. For some who are already into vermicomposting, it was a revalidation and improvement of their own practices. A concrete output of the training was the setup of a vermicompost bed in the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) or waste segregation area of the school.

As an eco-farming advocate, I will always gladly help spread these environmentally sound practices and make people better understand the advantages of farming the sustainable way.

Basic Vermicomposting Training. (click on title or image to download presentation)

Other Useful References:

Manual of On-Farm Vermicomposting and Vermiculture

Guide to Vermiculture and Vermicomposting

We were fortunate to be granted a chance to visit again the St Paul University Dumaguete (SPUD) Integrated and Sustainable Farm in Calo, Dumaguete City during our recent trip there. It has been six months since we were there and  I was surprised to see a lot of amazing changes.

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In the sleepy market of San Jose District in Puerto Princesa, Palawan lies a small garden planted to a variety of vegetables and herbs. The owner is an old lady who has spent most of her life advocating natural healing through the inclusion of fresh fruits and vegetables in the diet. Sylvia Dumo Pendon who calls her advocacy  the “Natural Diet for Disease Prevention and Life Extension” is a retired nutritionist who spent most of her professional years in Quezon City but has since moved to Palawan. She told us that moving to the province to pursue her passion of growing vegetables, herbs and medicinal plants was part of her retirement plan.

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a lush ricefield

What does it take to convert a rice field cultivated the conventional way into an organic farm? One technique is to follow the system of Pastor Jerry Dionson of Humayan Ministry in Bago City, Negros Occidental. He has been helping the farmers in this rice bowl of Negros in converting conventionally farmed fields into organic farms.

Dionson and his farming colleagues have good reasons for converting rice fields into organic farms. For one, it is economical to produce rice the organic way since the farmers themselves are taught to make their own fertilizers and plant protection inputs. Usually, an organic farmer can grow organic rice at a cash expense of only about P14,700 per hectare. For another reason, the price of organic rice is much higher than the conventionally produced grains. The selling price is P60 to P80 per kilo.

As per the experience at the Humayan Ministry, the yield increases as the years pass by. In 2005, when they started converting their farms, the yield was only 75 cavans of palay per hectare. This increased to 87 cavans in 2006, 93 cavans in 2007, 115 cavans in 2008 and then 128 cavans in 2009.

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At first glance, Ruby Cruz seems like any other participant selling herbal remedies at the Megatrade Hall’s event emphasizing organic solutions for health-conscious Filipinos. Eager to have people try their latest product, a dietary supplement called Hydrolean, she chats with visitors sampling the vermillion-colored drink, explaining that the slight itch they feel at the back of their throat is from the ginger extract, while the color of the drink comes from Roselle extract—a natural anti-oxidant that gives the product its cranberry flavor and inhibits the conversion of carbohydrate into fat.

This writer was given five packs of Hydrolean to try out in five days, and while it must honestly be said that the results are inconclusive, the effects of the product cannot be shrugged off. Drinking it just before going on a stationary bicycle for 30 to 45 minutes, the product causes one to sweat more, and possibly makes you want to pedal a bit faster than usual, and represses the urge to snack in between meals. At P700 for 14 sachets, it may be what some people need before the start of their day.

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A 10-hectare organic farm in Galicia in Pidigan, Abra, has been drawing Cordillera farmers who want to learn about its sustainable and environmental farming practices.

Galicia Farms has served as a model to agriculture experts who advocate a shift back to traditional farming in this age of expensive chemical-based agriculture, said Pura Sumangil, director of Social Development Center (Sodec) of the Diocese of Bangued, which runs the farms. Sumangil said the farm has been promoting environment-friendly technology and has helped various groups in producing and marketing their products. The farm has a demonstration field and offers training on seed banking of traditional seeds, organic farming and organizational development. Sodec has been running the farm since the late 1990s after its former director, Sister Celerina Zabala, introduced organic farming in Bangued communities, Sumangil said.

“Even before the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010 (Republic Act 10068) came into the picture, the Department of Agriculture has been coming here to conduct training and lectures among farmers interested in organic farming. This farm has become their show window for the rest of the Cordillera,” she said.

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A banana exporting company operating in Southern Mindanao has discovered the benefits of organic farming, and its area devoted to non-chemical agriculture has grown since it adopted the practice.

Dr. Benny Corcolon, vice president for research and information of the Tagum Development Corp. (Tadeco) banana plantation, said the area the firm has devoted to organic farming now makes up 5 percent of their 6,500-hectare plantation. Tadeco mainly grows bananas in Davao del Norte.

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