By ZAC B. SARIAN
October 26, 2012, 12:32pm
Make sure to get a copy of the November issue of Agriculture Magazine which will be off the press anytime now. You will enjoy the many interesting articles, including the story about Antonio Partoza who is transforming his durian farm in Davao City into an agritourism destination.
Melpha M. Abello wrote the story. What makes Patoza’s farm ideal for agritourism is that it is operated without the use of chemical pesticides. He uses mostly organic fertilizer and a small percentage of chemical fertilizer. The use of Mycovam, a biofertilizer with bendficial fungi, helps keep his trees healthy and productive. Most of the trees are of the Arancillo variety which produces relatively smaller fruits but are very tasty.
During durian season, visitors can enjoy eating all the durian they can eat for a fee of P180 per person. Aside from enjoying eating the exotic fruit, they can try their hand at picking the prickly durian fruits. The place can be an ideal place for meditation. Or an educational trip. Visitors can learn about the techniques of growing durian.
SHEEP BREEDER — Those who are interested in raising small ruminants can read the story about Rex Yerro and his father Norberto who are specializing in breeding recommended breeds of sheep. Right now, they have more than 200 head in their farms in San Ildefonso, Bulacan and in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija.
Earlier this year, they were the recipients of a package of purebred sheep under the US Public Law 480 Assistance Program. Their farm has been designated as a participating multiplier farm by the Bureau of Animal Industry which is implementing its own Genetic Improvement Program in livestock. The purebred breeders are considered a loan which will be paid in kind (progenies) within three years. Each female received will be paid with three young females.
BIOFERTILIZER — There is also this story about how Mycovam, a biofertilizer with beneficial fungi, has helped farmers in Panabo, Davao del Norte increase their harvest. One of the users interviewed by Melpha M. Abello was Daniel Murga Jr., a smallhold farmer who is practicing integrated farming in his 1.7-hectare property. In 2008, he applied just two kilos of Mycovam together with goat manure to his 30 mango trees, 40 coconuts and 8 rambutan trees.
The result? He used to get only 3,000 kilos or three tons from his mango trees. Now, he is getting 13 tons, thanks to Mycovam. Now he gets 800 kilos a year from his 40 coconuts compared to a very pitiful harvest before he started using Mycovam. The same happened to his 8 rambutan trees. By mid-September this year, he had already sold P5,000 worth of fruits, with much of the harvest either consumed at home or given to friends and neighbors. His latundan bananas also yielded plump and sweet fruits (see photo), thanks to Mycovam and vermicast that he applied to his plants.
CO-OP SERVES CASSAVA FARMERS — There is also the interesting story about the San Jose Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Banga, South Cotabato, which is helping cassava farmers make money from this root crop.
How? Well, because the co-op has acquired postharvest facilities such as flatbed dryer, slicer and granulator, plus a solar dryer and processing center, it has become a favored supplier of cassava chips to a big feed mill.
Thanks to the Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP), the co-op was able to get a financial package of P3.5 million which it used to buy the postharvest facilities. With those facilities, the co-op can now meet the quality standards that the feedmill requires. And so farmers have a ready market for their harvests. This also means a stable income for the planters.
NEW ONIONS — Another good news is that there are new onion varieties that promise to become best performers under local conditions. These include the varieties recently introduced by Allied Botanical Corporation which have been tested in farmers’ fields in Quezon, Occidental Mindoro, Nueva Ecija, Ilocos and Nueva Vizcaya.
One of them is Rio Bravo which is a yellow variety that is suitable for hamburgers and salads. Under farmers’ field in Nueva Ecija, Rio Bravo yielded an average of 25 tons per hectare.
Another high-yielding variety from Allied is called Juni. In trial plantings in Quezon, a 1,000-square meter lot yielded 3 tons which translates to 30 tons per hectare.
There are many other interesting features in the November issue of Agriculture which you should not miss.
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