Look at the farmhouse now

By DENNIS LADAW

The house is composed of three connected beehive-like domes made of steel and covered with local wood materials. (photo by Willy Saw)

MANILA, Philippines -- Farms aren’t what they used to be. Today, some of them can be found in gated communities, where the “farmhouses” are architectural showcases. This new breed of farms is called the leisure farm. They’re composed of several lots that have enough space for a house and for the residents to grow various vegetables and fruits.   At Leisure Farms in Lemery, Batangas, for instance, every house on each lot can occupy only 20 percent of the total lot area. The rest of the space is reserved for farming. Developed by Landco Pacific, the place is more of a vacation spot for its residents, who have the option to till in their own properties.

Among the more prominent residents of Leisure Farms are Lilia and Eric Abad Santos. This retired couple is best described as “Sunday farmers.”   They don’t do the actual cultivating. After all, they don’t look like your usual farmer; Lilia Abad Santos is an elegant lady who once worked as a real estate broker. Husband Eric looks very distinguished  and was the director of purchasing, distribution, and personnel departments of Proctor & Gamble Philippines and consultant in P&G’s Asia-Pacific companies. Instead, the staff of Leisure Farms does the farming work for them.  Leisure Farms can also sell the produce for the residents but the Abad Santos couple opted to waive that service. “We just  consume the produce ourselves, so we don’t need to shop at the palengke anymore,” says Lilia Abad Santos while laughing. “And we also give to the children and friends.”

The Abad Santos farm produces Indian mangoes, calamansi, and kalabasa, among others. These agricultural products, however, often take a backseat to the farmhouse, which is an architectural marvel. The home is composed of three connected domes, which house the living room, dining area, and kitchen. From afar, the domes resemble three giant mushrooms or beehives. This overall look is the result of the many ideas the couple and their architect Danny Ibay had.

“When we bought the lot, we just wanted to have a pavilion built,” says Eric Abad Santos. “We already have a vacation house in Tagaytay, so there was no need to build another house in Lemery, which is just an hour’s drive away from Tagaytay. The pavilion would just be a place to rest in whenever we visited the farm. But later on, we told Danny to add a living room, and then a kitchen and dining area. The place just expanded as we planned the house!”

Lilia Abad Santos marvels at their architect, who is known for his unique concepts. “But we always let it be known that we have our own ideas and what we wanted to build was a very Filipino house, using bamboo and nipa.  I said I wanted to build a replica of the classic Ifugao hut. I liked the concept of having the living quarters on the second level, while the first level is used for storage,” she says.

Architect Ibay then thought of designing a circular house, as he suddenly became inspired by the igloos of the Eskimos and the shape of the beehive. Thus, these three ideas were fused together to form what is now the distinctive Abad Santos residence at Leisure Farms. As it was agreed that a living room and a kitchen would be included in the plan, three enormous beehives were built. Each of them stands roughly two storeys high.

To make this concept a reality, the couple hired contractor Mark Taylor to build the house. To turn the design into an actual house, Taylor used steel to build the three beehives. He then covered the steel with hardwood.  Inside, the steel is hidden by bamboo nailed to the steel. “It took more than three months to install the bamboo on the ceilings of the three domes,” says Eric Abad Santos.

While the look of the house is one of a kind, the architecture actually follows today’s concept of a modern house.  Huge windows were installed to allow natural light  and  the breeze to enter the place. “Cross ventilation is always our requirement,” says Lilia Abad Santos. “The house has to be cool at all times.”

The house is indeed literally and figuratively “cool.”  It’s an avante garde take on the traditional bahay kubo; a circular version. Its domed ceiling makes the place feel airy and this is enhanced by the extensive use of indigenous materials like bamboo. It’s also awesome. Looking straight up at the ceilings, one can imagine Michelangelo standing on a ladder and painting another masterpiece in the house.

The place and its interiors are works of art in their own right.  Most of the wooden furniture is locally made and many of them were designed by Ibay. Attracting attention are the long, circular sofas that line almost every wall of the main beehive. Ensconced by the windows, Lilia Abad Santos says they’re comfortable enough to sleep on.

A real bedroom is located in a loft, located above the dining room in one of the beehives. This is where the couple stays. “This was a late addition to the house,” says Eric Abad Santos. “It was never in the original plan.”

“We call it our nest,” adds his wife. “The children are comfortable in the living room. We have our living quarters above. Bu there is still enough room to add more rooms and lofts.”

Like the rest of the house, the loft is sumptuously furnished and decorated with Filipino pieces. It’s a room that certainly fits the gracious queen of these beehives

Korea willing to fund agri dev’t of idle lands

By BERNIE CAHILES-MAGKILAT

April 26, 2011, 10:48pm

MANILA, Philippines – South Korea has expressed interest in funding an initial 3,000 hectares of idle government lands in four provinces with corn and other crops to increase productivity in the country’s agricultural sector and ensure food security.

Trade and industry undersecretary Cristino L. Panlilio told reporters the project would be coursed through Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

According to Panlilio, there are an estimated 100,000-hectare of idle government agricultural lands but the program would start with an initial 3,000 hectares in the provinces of Isabela, Quirino, Aurora and Misamis Oriental.

“South Korea is offering a multi-industry clustering program on how to harness idle agricultural lands into productive resources,” Panlilio said.

The proposal was initiated by former South Korea Ambassador to the Philippines Choi Joong-Kyung.

“This is meant to increase the productivity of our agricultural sector in the remote areas including fishery and livestock production,” he said.

The program is one way to ensure food security in the country and to help reduce poverty incidence by making the country’s agricultural sector productive.

Panlilio said the government will have to conduct a review of all idle lands where the South Korean project can be implemented.

Three Philippine agencies are going to collaborate with project including DTI, Departments of Agriculture and the Environment and Natural Resources.

Panlilio said that the South Korean government has already invited Korean businesses to tie-up with Filipinos to develop the country’s agricultural sector but they need to present a ‘story line’ of success, thus the need to start with the initial 3,000 hectares in the four identified provinces.

For a 3,000 hectare sugar plantation, Panlilio said, it would require an investment of P270 million.

This project was conceptualized as early as 2009 and an inter-government agency was even created to handle it but it did not take off.

“We have to complete our studies,” he said.

Disseminating the right technologies

By ZAC B. SARIAN

MANILA, Philippines – The right farming technologies are very important for farmers to succeed in their projects. The wrong technology, even just one, could lead to disaster. It could mean lost time, lost opportunity, lost investment. It could mean total failure.

Just like the need to disseminate the right technologies in producing hybrid rice. As per the experience of those who have been receptive to new technologies, they have proven that hybrid rice yields could easily double or more than double the yield from ordinary varieties. If they adopt the right technology.

But there are still those who commit grievous mistakes. Hence, there is need for an intensified dissemination of the fine points of hybrid rice growing.

Many are still reluctant to plant hybrid rice. The trouble is that these farmers still cling to their old techniques.

For instance, they are not used to plant just one seedling per hill when planting hybrid rice. They have doubts in their minds on the wisdom of planting just one 18-days-old seedling per hill. That’s because they have been used to planting ordinary varieties at the rate of three to four seedlings per hill.

In our talks with people who have been planting single hybrid rice seedlings per hill, we have been assured that it is not difficult to follow the recommended steps. Even lady farmers have found it easy to grow hybrid rice, particularly in places where it is not flooded all the time.

Emily Gagilonia of Brgy. San Andres, Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, is one lady farmer who has been successful in growing hybrid rice in the last two years. Yet, she continues to join farm tours and seminars because there are always new things she can learn to improve her knowledge.

Emily was one of several lady farmers who attended the farm tour and seminar on hybrid rice farming in the farm of Roman Jimenez in Brgy. Bical in Muñoz City.

She related that last December 22, she planted hybrid rice on 4,500 square meters. After 115 days she harvested from that area 5.7 tons which is more than the usual harvest from a hectare planted to ordinary variety. Immediately after harvest, the newly harvested palay was bought by a trader for P76,908. And how much did she spend to produce that 5.7 tons?

She spent a total of P16,885 for the seeds, land preparation, planters, fertilizers, diesel used by the irrigation pump, harvesting, threshing, herbicide and other incidentals. That means that Emily netted P60,022 from that 4,500 square meters in less than four months of growing hybrid rice.

What are some of the pointers being emphasized by the hybrid rice experts? The Bioseed technicians have observed that some farmers are applying too much nitrogenous fertilizers, particularly urea. Some are applying as many as 15 bags of urea per hectare. And they are applying the same even at the booting stage of the plants.

That is not good, according to Estrella Hidalgo, a senior agriculturist who has been active in advocating hybrid rice production. Too much vegetative growth results in poor grain filling. What is needed is balanced fertilization. At booting stage, more phosphorus and potassium are needed. One other bad effect of applying too much urea is that the soil will get too acidic.

One activity of Bioseed technicians to teach the proper use of fertilizers is what they call “soil test camp.” Here, they demonstrate how to take soil samples and test them for their nutrient contents. That’s a way to determine what element is lacking in the soil or what is in sufficient amounts. That way, they will know what fertilizer to apply.

What is important, according to Estrella Hidalgo, is to apply the right amount of fertilizer at the right stage of the plants’ growth. It’s a no-no, for instance to apply urea at the booting stage of the rice plants.

The technicians also teach the farmers the right time to harvest their crops. In the case of Jollirice, they say, the crop should be harvested only when the grains are fully mature, i.e., at least 115 days after transplanting.

By then the grains would be fully developed and would be heavier. Too early harvesting can result in more broken grains.

There’s also one important observation we gathered from 61-year-old Februnio Abad of San Mauricio, San Jose, Nueva Ecija. This is about drying palay. He said that it is much better to dry the palay in the sun by using canvas (trapal) than by spreading the same on a concrete solar dryer or drying on the highway. When palay is dried on cemented floor, the grains are bruised somehow and that results in poorer milling recovery. The grains dried on canvas usually have a better milling recovery, according to Abad who is a candidate in the search for most outstanding hybrid rice farmer of the year.

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WOMEN VEGETABLE GROWERS FORM GROUP — Many of the women who took the three-month hands-on training in growing high-value vegetables in Tarlac have formed their own group so they can work together and be able to produce the vegetables needed by the SM Supermarket in SM Tarlac. The training was under the auspices of the SM Foundation in collaboration with Harbest Agribusiness Corporation.

Princess Bañaga, mall manager, lectured on how to merchandise and promote their products. The BDO Unibank has also been asked to send an accountant to brief the women farmers on proper accounting and bookkeeping for the sustainability of their business
.

Fast-growing Money-maker

Agri Plain Talk

By ZAC B. SARIAN

April 30, 2011, 1:20am

 MANILA, Philippines — One promising new money-maker for local investors is the Pekin duck, particularly the F1 (first generation) ducklings of a superior genetic line from the Czech Republic that is now available locally.

According to Dr. Erwin Cruz who is distributing the ducklings, this Pekin duck will usually attain a liveweight of 3.6 kilos in only 49 days. With a dressing percentage of 69%, each bird will yield 2.48 kilos of marketable meat. The meat has a farmgate price of P190 per kilo, hence one dressed duck will gross the raiser P471.20.

And what is the cost of production per bird of a batch of 100? The cost of producing one kilo of meat, including the cost of dressing, is P122.83, according to Dr. Cruz. So the cost of producing the 2.48 kilos of meat per bird is P304.61. Subtract this from the gross of P471.20, and you get a net profit of P166.59 per head. That’s not bad for a growing period of 49 days.

The quality of the meat meets the high standards of the top restaurants in Manila as well as the importers from Japan, according to Dr. Cruz. In fact, one Japanese importer would like to import three container loads (54 tons) of dressed Pekin duck every week. However, as of the moment, the requirement could only be met partially.

Dr. Cruz said that the ducks should be raised in confinement inside a house with elevated floor (one meter above the ground). In the growing period of 49 days, each bird will usually consume 8.4 kilos costing P194.58.

The other costs are the cost of the ducklings (P65 each), brooding cost at P5 per head; rice hull used for brooding (P5 per head). Labor is placed at P1,000 per 100 birds.

Here is a golden opportunity for the Philippines to capitalize on the fact that it is about the only country in the region that is free of the bird flu. Clusters of Pekin duck production involving the small farmers is possible, according to Dr. Cruz.

What is needed is government support for the industry such as the provision of AAA dressing plants that will make it possible to export the Pekin duck meat not only to Japan but also elsewhere.

Technology in postharvest processing as well as various ways of cooking Pekin duck meat should be in the research agenda.

Of course, the target should not only be for export. More Filipinos should also be able to savor the Pekin duck meat.

Actually, many Filipinos think very lowly of duck meat because they believe it is tough and has a fishy taste (malangsa). That’s because the local ducks often cooked are the culls whose meat is tough.

Once they taste the fleshy and tender meat of the 49-days-old Pekin duck of Dr. Cruz, their impression of duck meat would be totally different.

Source: Manila Bulletin

Farming right after college

By ZAC B. SARIAN

May 5, 2011, 3:00am

MANILA, Philippines – Most students who go to college usually look for employment after graduation. But there are a few who would rather become entrepreneurs and put up their own source of livelihood.

While there are risks to be faced by those who choose to go it alone, there are also rewards for those who are focused on what they want to undertake.

One fellow who took the self-employment route after college is Arthur L. Dacanay, 46, of Brgy. San Pedro Ili, Alcala, Pangasinan. He finished a course in mechanical engineering from the National University and while waiting for the results of the board exams, he thought of planting hybrid corn on 7,400 square meters that a retired tenant returned to Arthur’s family.

From that area, he was able to produce about three tons of white corn which he sold at P6.25 per kilo. He thought that farming could be a viable source of income after selling his first crop. And since then, he has developed the love for farming. He has been planting corn and rice on five hectares in the past many years. But the area will be expanded to eight hectares this coming November as another tenant who went to Hawaii will be turning over three more hectares.

One interesting experience was when planted for the first time the Bt corn called Healer 101 on just 3,000 square meters. He was able to harvest from that small area a total of 72 cavans of dried grains totaling 3,246 kilos which he sold at P12.10 per kilo, giving him a gross of P39,204. As per his record, he was able to net P26,423 from that 3,000 square meters.

During the rainy season, Arthur plants rice. For the past two consecutive years, he did not make money from rice because he planted a fancy variety that is low yielding. He was able to harvest only less than 250 cavans from the five hectares that he planted because of drought and floods that destroyed his crop.

During this coming planting season, however, Arthur will be trying Jollirice, a new hybrid rice being distributed by Bioseed Research Philippines based in General Santos City. As per the experience of farmers who have earlier planted this variety, it is high-yielding with a potential yield of 11 tons per hectare under favorable and good management conditions.

According to Mrs. Estrella Hidalgo, Bopseed product evaluation and agronomy manager, Jollirice is more resistant to drought than most other varieties. It has very sturdy stems so that it will not easily lodge. Moreover, this variety produces very long panicles, each containing as many as 300 to 400 grains. The eating quality is also excellent so that it can be sold in the market as a fancy variety. As such, it commands a higher price than other varieties.

Arthur does not regret becoming a full-time farmer rather than become an employee after graduation. He is leading a comfortable farm life with his wife Rowena. Aside from rice and corn, they have a small piggery and fruit trees.

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AANI SEMINARS ON SUNDAY, MAY 7 — Two seminars will be conducted by Agri-Aqua Network International (AANI) on Saturday, May 7.

One is on Vermiculture and Vermi Tea production to be conducted by Raymond Rubia. He will discuss how to produce first-class organic fertilizer by culturing the African nightcrawler earthworm. He will also teach the attendees how to prepare vermi tea which is a potent liquid fertilizer that can be used for producing organic vegetables.

A total of 10 vermiculture kits will be raffled to the attendees so they can start their projects right away. The seminar will be held at the AANI weekend market at the St. Vincent Seminary on Tandang Sora, Quezon City.

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MUSHROOM SEMINAR – The other AANI seminar on May 7 will be on mushroom culture. This will be held at the AANI Herbal Garden and Livelihood Center at the Quezon Memorial Citcle in Quezon City. The resource person will be Freddie Adorza. Those who are interested to attend either of the seminars can make their reservations at the AANI office at the Quezon Memorial Circle or at the St. Vincent Seminary.

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MANGO FESTIVAL – Meanwhile, watch for the Mango Festival that will be held at the St. Vincent Seminary in Quezon City on May 21 to 22. This will be participated in by some of the major mango producers. There will be lectures on mango production and display of mango fruits, inputs and equipment.

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ANTI-VEGGIE SMUGGLING STUDY — The Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) of the Department of Agriculture and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) based in Los Baños have agreed to conduct a joint study on how to curb smuggling of agricultural products in the country. The UP Los Baños will also be tapped to help in the project which will investigate the quantitative and qualitative aspects of smuggling of agricultural commodities to find out the extent of this illegal activity.

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GET A COPY OF AGRICULTURE MAG — Make sure to buy a copy of the May issue of Agriculture Magazine which is now off the press. You will read about the fast-growing Pekin duck which can grow to 3.6 kilos in a growing period of 45 days.

You will also read about the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who decided to give up their jobs abroad to become full-time farmers and agribusinessmen.

Then there is this article on Carribean Pearl and Carribean Gold melons which are being grown for a company that distributes fruits and vegetables in Metro Manila. These have thick flesh that is firm, bright orange in color, and with very delightful smell and sweet taste. These varieties are being distributed by Allied Botanical Corporation.

You will also read about the new P1-billion hybrid seed production plant of Pioneer Hi-Bred located at the Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac City. It is said that at full capacity, the facility will be able to process more than 12,000 metric tons of corn and palay seeds for drying, conditioning, packaging and warehousing prior to distribution through its channels in major rice and corn producing areas.

Another interesting story is how Ramon Uy of Bacolod City was saved from bankruptcy by his shredders which have become the favorite of organic fertilizer producers as well as local government units who use the same for their waste management programs.

Source: Manila Bulletin

A camote advocate

By ZAC B. SARIAN

April 8, 2011, 5:45pm

HO CHI MINH -- We had an interesting exchange of ideas with Roberto P. Alingog during breakfast at a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City last April 2. He is a rural banker and founder of Ropali, a distributor of agricultural implements and motorcycles with 110 outlets all over the country.

He and a group of bankers were visiting Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi in Vietnam and then to Thailand. On the other hand, we were on a trip sponsored by Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Company as part of our award in the Bright Leaf Journalism Awards.

Mr. Alingog, who has just been notified as this year’s outstanding UP alumnus in entrepreneurship and employment creation, is also very much concerned about our rice supply in the country. He believes we should not just tackle our rice problem by trying to increase production. There should be other alternatives that will help alleviate our perennial shortage of rice.

Just like what we have been advocating, he is for the consumption of more root crops, especially camote. Eating camote is not only good for the health, It could help the country save foreign exchange. If only more people would eat camote instead of rice once a day, he said, the reduction in rice consumption would be tremendous.

He believes that the way to do that is to subtly advocate camote consumption. There should be no coercive or legislative fiat. What is needed is to have more advocates who are really sincere in promoting the idea.

There are advantages in advocating more camote consumption. For one, even the most ordinary farmer can produce his own camote. This crop is not badly damaged by typhoons. Besides the roots, camote tops are also nutritious.

Also, there are already improved varieties of camote for human con¬sumption, thanks to the Philippine Root Crop Research and Training Center at the Visayas State University in Baybay.

One outstanding variety developed in Baybay is VSP6 that is not only re¬sistant to virus, it is also high-yielding with an average yield of 21.02 tons per hectare. It also has a high dry matter content of 32.90 percent. This means that it has excellent taste as boiled camote. It is also good for camote-cue because the flesh does not easily break.

Another significant hybrid released in 2002 is now known as NSIC SP25 or the LSU Purple. It has a marbled purple flesh which is desirable because it is said to be high in anthocyanin. It contains a lot of antioxidants which is good for the health.

Dr. Julie Tan, head of the postharvest division of PhilRootcrops, says that among the various varieties released for commercial production, LSU purple has about the highest dry matter content of 36 percent, hence it is very tasty when boiled. It is sweet because it has the highest sugar content of 4.07 percent compared to most other varieties which only have 2 to 3 percent.

 

Counterpart fund for Mindanao cacao program eyed

By MELODY M. AGUIBA

MANILA, Philippines – Cacao producers are looking for a counterpart fund for a $5 million Mindanao cacao sustainable agro-forestry program that should aid in raising Philippine output to 100,000 metric tons (MT) of export-quality cacao beans by 2020.

The counterpart fund will be applied for the same sustainable cacao program in Luzon and Visayas.

From the current cacao production of only 6,000 metric tons (MT) yearly, it is not very hard to reach the 2020 production goal.

This is because there are as much as 1.07 million hectares of available coconut areas that can readily be intercropped with cacao of which only 10 percent or 107,000 hectares will be needed to hit the target, according to Cocoa Foundation of the Philippines (CFP) President Edward F. David.

CFP already obtained a $3 to $5 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), along with the ACDI-VOCA (Agricultural Cooperation Development Intl-Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance), for the three-year Mindanao program that started in 2009.

The program called the Success Alliance Philippine Program (SUCCESS) includes development of seed gardens, plant distribution, training of farmers, and facilitating of partnerships with the local government.

However, funding for SUCCESS in Luzon and Visayas is also needed.

"Fortunately, we were still able to get a grant for SUCCESS, but only for Mindanao. We're looking for donors from the national and local government for Luzon and Visayas," said CFP President Edward F. David in a press briefing.

SUCCESS is already on its third phase. It has so far successfully helped in raising Philippines' cacao export by raising the quality of cacao beans through sustainable farming, fermentation techniques, and other post harvest technologies. From a negative export figure in 2001, the country's cacao bean export rose to 95 metric tons (MT) in 2004, rising up to 295 MT in 2009. This is further aimed to rise to 500 to 600 MT in 2011.

Related to this target, CFP is pushing for the establishment of 23 more more cooperative-based, village level fermentation and drying facilities nationwide. That should be on top the three post harvest centers in Davao, Compostela Valley, and Zamboanga that it already established in 2010.

The global market for cacao has been very promising over the last few years with a deficit reaching to 82 million MT as of 2009-2010.

It is important that the Philippines should have a long-term cacao program so that farmers will find stability in planting cacao.

"We have received a premium price of $3,400 per ton for our cacao. Five or six years ago, that was just $3,100 dollars. And most people are saying 'we shouldn't have cut our cacao trees.' This is our usual problem-- if price drops, we cut our trees. We forget that we can plant other things in the area (in order to survive the low prices)," said David.

Farmers also have many options of choosing the cacao variety that they see fit in their business as the CFP already has good, high-yielding varieties and certified seeds. CFP has started promoting the production of more cooking chocolates or tableas.

It has also partnered with the Philippine Rice Research Institute (Philrice) in Philrice's Palayamanan program where cacao trees are planted with other high value crops along with rice and with the raising of livestock and fish ponds. Some of the farmers under its cacao program are agrarian reform beneficiaries tending small areas of 1 to 1.5 hectares.