PinoyEcoFarmer

“The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.” 
Masanobu Fukuoka, One-Straw Revolution

A recent acquisition of about 2,000+ sqm meter farmlot (mid July of this year) somewhere in the highlands of Alfonso spurred a regular weekend love affair with farming. This has been a long time coming after a discouraging attempt to takeover a smaller farm property somewhere near Dasmarinas, Cavite that never materialized. An unexpected offer by longtime friends Henry and Cris Arceo to be their neighbors in the Alfonso farmlot paved the way for this quite addictive (I must admit) venture. The opportunities all unexpectedly fell into place with the concessions given by the kind sellers.

Farming has become a therapy. A weekend stay at the farm recharges me for another week of office work. My wife (Hilda) and two kids (Julius and Juliene) have joined me in these getaways. The kids never miss to enjoy the springs and river below the property while I supervise the farm work that needed to be done. A stay at the little farm has become something of a regular event to look forward to even with just the most spartan facilities that we have so far.

It was like a jungle when we first saw the property due to years of neglect and abandon. The vines have crept and invaded the santol, coconut, lansones and avocado trees that consequently blocked the sunlight from reaching the rich soil below the thick canopies. Practically nothing was done to take care of the property and the trees planted to it. There was little activity except for the occasional harvesting of coconuts sold to middlemen at ridiculously cheap prices. We saw a lot of work that needs to be done yet we took the challenge and has never regretted the decision.

With a collective area of half-hectare farm space, we set a general direction of what we intend to do with the tiny farm which is to be an ecologically sound and sustainable natural/organic farm on this scale. This is a fairly manageable area at this point considering the time and resources that we can afford to allot. The farm is a work in progress and as rookie farmers (all I have are theories although I was trained to be a farmer) we surely need a lot of help from both veteran and new farmer friends who share the same passion and enthusiasm that we have.

I will attempt to chronicle and share our experiences, successes as well as failures along with posts on various protocols done by others so other farmers who will read this can learn and hopefully share theirs as well.   The internet has made and facilitated knowledge sharing that is unprecedented which we can use to our advantage. It has provided us with a wealth of information. Farmers can really learn a lot from each other but at the end of the day there is no better judge on what will work best in their farms than the farmer themselves.

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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Larry Milloroso, a 43-year old farmer from Barangay Dongon East in Numancia, Aklan is glad he has shifted to natural rice farming. Among the reasons he practices natural farming in his farm include getting a good harvest, additional profit, healthier environment, and chemical-free rice on the table.

Larry cultivates a 5,500-square meter irrigated ricefield that he planted to NSIC Rc 120 this season. In Aklan where farmers’ landholdings are commonly small and contiguous, this area can already be considered good enough to produce rice for family consumption and have some extra harvest for sale. He also grows latundan banana on 1,000 square meters, and mungbean and squash in the adjacent 1,000 square meters.

Larry learned about natural farming from PINA Foundation Inc., a non-government organization funded by the Swiss Catholic Lenten Fund which aims to help farmers increase production and income through sustainable agriculture. In 2003, PINA Foundation office in Kalibo, Aklan conducted a six-month season-long farm school in Numancia where Larry was one of the 15 enrollees.

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Our backyard garden may be small but nothing compares to the simple joys of harvesting something from it. We gathered the first fruits of our pipinitos (mini cucumbers) after just barely two months after we first sowed the seeds.

For breakfast, we  sliced the pipinitos into thin pieces as salad and it was great with rice, sardines and scrambled eggs. We also prepared a blended pipinito smoothie out of our harvest. All we did was mix some calamansi juice, add honey to sweeten and some crushed ice. The result was a refreshing and delicious drink.

Growing pipinitos is easy. Sow the seeds directly and put a trellis near it (a tree branch will do), water regularly and wait for nature to run its course. We did not put any fertilizers nor applied pesticides but we got good results. Imagine doing this in your own yards.

Carbonized rice hull is a crucial ingredient of bokashi organic fertilizer and can also be used in composting toilets and animal bedding. CRH results from the incomplete combustion of rice hulls under high heat and low oxygen conditions (pyrolysis). Pyrolysis causes the decomposition of organic materials such as lignin and cellulose, leaving a residue of carbon and mineral nutrients.

Click on Carbonized Rice Hull to view in pdf format.

The document was done by one of the members of Natural Farming Philippines.

The three-day 3rd Pinoy Organic Festival will open on May 28, 2010 (Friday) at the AANI Herbal Garden and Livelihood Center at the Quezon Memorial Circle, Quezon City. The event will end on Sunday, May 30, 2010.

The organic fest will be participated in by organic farming practitioners, advocates from the government, academe and the private sector. Various organic products will be exhibited for sale by growers and processors of various commodities.

Expected to grace the 3-day festival are:

1. Pablito Villegas (trustee of the Organic Produce Trade Association, owner of Villegas Organic Farm, and convenor for Asia of the Intercontinental Network of Organic Farmers Organization)
2. Sen. Miguel Zubiri (one of the principal authors of the Philippine Organic Agriculture Law)
3. Rep. Proceso J. Alcala (Congressman of Quezon Province and a staunch advocate of natural farming)
4. Armand and Teresa Saniano of the Earthkeepers (Teresa Saniano write a book on natural farming)

The Quizon Farm in Antipolo City will also display live turkeys as well as processed turkey meat products.

The exhibits, the forums and seminars are open free to the public. The event organizer, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, is the Agri-Aqua Network International (AANI). Pol Rubia is AANI’s vice president and operations manager.

See you there.

Note: Article is a repost.

Our weekend visit to the University of the Philippines Los Banos to attend an activity at the Boy Scouts Campsite gave us a reason to finally drop-by the Herb Republic Restaurant for lunch. The heavy traffic (it took us 3 hours to get to Los Banos from Cavite) did not dampen our moods. It was already past 12 when we got there. The place was a oasis considering the searing heat of the midday sun.

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My trips to my home province of Sorsogon will not be complete without visiting the Our Lady of Penafrancia Seminary which is my highschool alma mater. The visit this time was doubly satisfying because it gave me an opportunity to see and admire the Sustainable Agriculture Center (SAC). The SAC manages the greenhouses on the seminary grounds in front of the Home for the Clergy and the open field farm at the back part.

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