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Created on Monday, 30 May 2011 20:01
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Published on Monday, 30 May 2011 20:01
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Written by Elsa S. Subong
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LEON, Iloilo – The 112 farmers who have just completed their 11-week organic farming training at the Kahublagan sang Panimalay Eco-Farm here said they have been enriched in their farming practices and that they realized how partnerships have given them so much opportunities to grow.
Anacleto Tacuyan of Tubungan, Iloilo, who has been a farmer all his life, said organic farming has given him the skills to make his farm more productive for healthy produce.
Leon farmer Nestor Camarista said organic farming lessons in the training made him realize that all this time he had been practicing “toxic” production in his farming.
“Now I know how best to employ safe agricultural approaches,” he said in the dialect during their graduation ceremonies.
The organic farming course is but one of the series of trainings that the Department of Agriculture (DA) will hold in the province in pursuit of the thrust of government for sustainable agriculture and climate change impact mitigation.
The DA Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) partnered with the Harbest Agribusiness Corporation, SM Foundation Incorporated, and the Kahublagan sang Panimalay Foundation, an environment-oriented non-government organization, which offered its Eco-Farm for demonstration activities.
The farmers, coming from the municipalities of Leon, Alimodian, San Miguel and Tubungan, worked on about 50 demonstration plots, which they planted to lettuce, mustard, spinach, pechay, kangkong, pipino, ampalaya, bell pepper, squash and raddish. The produce were they harvested and sold during their graduation at the SM City Activity Center on May 27.
Classes were held once a week by instructor Mr. Junnifer Prades of Harbest Agribusiness Corporation at the Eco-Farm. Evaluation sessions were also conducted.
Before their graduation, , on May 4 and 5, the farmer-trainees visited an organic farm in Negros Occidental to learn sustainable organic farming approaches.
Mr. Arsenio Barcelona, president of Harbest Agribusiness Corporation said they want to help the farmers learn environmentally sound agricultural practices, while making sure that their produce will have a ready market and sold at prices that will earn them higher income.
He also said farmers emphasized diligent and patient, even as they work on linkages to develop their market. Apart from this, they must work on technology transfer to progress.
SM Foundation Asst. Vice President Ms. Cristie Angeles, said they are part of the organic farming initiatives because of their desire to provide organic farmers a wide market through their outlets that are spread all over Iloilo City.
Also, SM Foundation advocates for healthy and safe living for people, she added.
Provincial Agriculturist Dr. Ildefonso Toledo said the DA is grateful for the public-private partnerships evolving in the agriculture sector through the organic farming trainings in the province.
He said more initiatives like this are also needed to combat effects of climate change.
Meanwhile, farmers Ricardo Doce of San Miguel and Adolfo Casorla of Alimodian said the challenge in organic farming is combining tradition and scientific know-how, as well as ecological considerations to create a balanced environment while desiring to improve their incomes.
With their graduation from their 11-week organic farming training the farmers now back into their respective farms expecting to do better with organic agriculture, knowing they are not alone. They have partners.
