Negros agri-tourism booms in 2009

By Vishia Mae Tolcidas
Regional Applied Communications

2009 has witnessed a big boost in agri-tourism with the highest number of agri-tourists to Negros Occidental recorded so far, Provincial Agriculturist Igmedio Tabianan said.

A total of 78 agri-tours to various organic farms were coordinated by the Farmers Information and Technology Services (FITS) Center of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) Negros Occidental, accounting for 1,027 visitors including farmers, students, academicians, local officials, and entrepreneurs listed in the OPA FITS logbook.
The influx of agritourists grows year by year and it is apparent that they cut a significant slice in the tourism pie. Agri-tourism is one industry that could rake in big revenues to the province, Tabianan added.

The figure, however, does not reflect the total number of tourists coming into the province, as some tourists go straight to the farms without seeking the assistance of OPA FITS, said Edna Garde, OPA FITS Manager. Garde, who is also OPA's public information officer and official tour guide, said that of the 1,027 agri-tourists recorded last year, more than half or 521 came from Panay Island in Region 6.

Organic farming initiatives in Negros have become popular since a memorandum of agreement was signed between governors Joseph Marañon of Negros Occidental and George Arnaiz of Negros Oriental in 2005. The partnership has been geared toward sustainable agriculture and rural development while seeking to make Negros Island the“Organic Food Basket of Asia.

WELCOME TO THE ORGANIC HUB
(Clockwise from top left) MS Ramon Peñalosa (extreme left) shares his integrated natural farming to PCARRD officials; an agri-tourist from Antique tests the water pump set up by the Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation Incorporated (AIDFI) in Bacolod City; OPA Negro Occidental Planning Chief Samson Garzon, Jr. orients Baguio City visitors on OPA’s programs and services; agri-tourists from Panay Island visit the Buro-buro Springs Vermi Farm in Talisay City; and OPA Official Tour Guide Edna Garde (right) hosts her counterpart from FITS Cordillera Administrative Region in Mon Peñalosa’s Manapla greenhouse.

Of the sites frequently visited, the farms of OPA FITS Farmer Scientist Ramon Peñalosa in Victorias City and Manapla emerged as the top agri-tourism destinations in the province, Garde said.


Appointed Magsasaka Siyentista by the Western Visayas Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (WESVARRDEC) in 2007, Peñalosa has been conducting package tours since the province started promoting organic farming through the 1st Negros Island Organic Farmers Festival in 2006.
It was in 2000 when the network of organic agriculture advocates was organized, the same year when Peñalosa began ‘integrated organic farming business’, Garde said.

As of 2009, OPA has listed 12 agri-tourism spots in the province, most of them advocating and practicing organic and probiotic agriculture and aquaculture while a number are into the manufacture of farming equipment and machinery.



Other agri-tourism sites are Buro-buro Springs Vermi Farm in Talisay City; Fresh Start Organics in Silay and Sagay City; Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation Incorporated (AIDFI); Cruz Aqua Corporation, RU Foundry, and Shenandoah Eco Farm in Bacolod City; ECJ Farms and La Granja Agricultural Research and Development Center in La Carlota City.

From soldiers to farmers

FITS CapSU Mambusao teaches farming to Camp Peralta personnel
By Niño Manaog
Regional Applied Communications
WESVARRDEC

On February 10–11, 2010, Farmers Information and Technological Services (FITS) Center based in Capiz State University (CapSU) Mambusao led a two-day training on organic farming and vegetable production to some 35 enlisted personnel including women and staff of Camp Gen. Macario B. Peralta, Jr. in barangay Jaena, Jamindan, Capiz.

Technology Services Specialist Eduardo Navarra lectured on the benefits of organic farming and led a demonstration on how to make natural concoctions as foliar fertilizers. In the workshop, the participants prepared fish amino acid, calcium phosphate and banana-squash fermented juice extract. Dr. Geronimo Gregorio, CapSU’s vice-president for research and extension and head of the Research and Development Extension Center (RDEC) led a lecture on vegetable production on the second day.

Col. Marcos Norman S. Flores, MNSA, Camp Peralta’s chief of staff, deemed the training relevant to their personnel development. Flores said that they train their soldiers to raise vegetables in their own backyard so they would not wholly depend on the commercial and more expensive food supply from the barangay’s tiangge. In July 2009, Camp Peralta started the Gulayan ng Bayan project, which requires soldiers to tend to and raise vegetables in respective plots across the camp.

FROM SOLDIERS TO FARMERS
Camp Peralta's enlisted personnel prepare various natural concoctions using indigenous microogranisms (IMOs) which can be used as foliar fertilizers in their plots. These and other similar organics-based farming practices are widely promoted by FITS CapSU Mambusao.

According to Lt. Col. Bebarlito Baribar, project coordinator of Gulayan ng Bayan, selected military personnel were grouped into three to take active part in the project which has been set to compete with the commercial market in their locality. Baribar identified three problems that they met in pursuing the project. This included poor soil conditions, high precipitation and the soldiers’ lack of know-how in farming—the training sought to address the third problem. Baribar added that the project not only sets to provide livelihood and survival mechanism for the military personnel; it also enjoins them to develop the value of self-reliance.

Participants coming from different backgrounds had favorable responses on the training. Thirty two-year old Jonalyn Lagare, a private first class from Ipil, Zamboanga del Sur said the training taught a lot to the participants, and that the learning they got can be used anytime. Lagare said she will be able to apply what she learned especially when she retires in Sibugay where her family owns a sizable piece of land.

Meanwhile, Pototan, Iloilo-born M/Sgt. Pedro Millare, who is now 33 years in service, said the training particularly the ideas on organic farming, was very helpful because soldiers are not particular about their know-how when they are assigned to farming. They just till the land and harvest without much knowledge on how to go about them. Millare said that the Philippines is highly agricultural, and that soldiers retiring to farming can certainly make use of the know-how which were clearly conveyed to them by the speakers.

The resource team included Dr. Raul Ticar and Mary Ann Lariza of FITS CapSU Mambusao.

17 products “certified organic”

By Vishia Mae Dominic J. Tolcidas
Regional Applied Communications
FITS OPA Negros Occidental

Products of 17 companies, smallholder groups and individuals have been labeled “certified organic” by the Negros Island Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (NISARD) Certification Services, making their products more cost-efficient and command a higher price in both local and international organic markets.

Robert Gasparillo, Organic Guarantee Officer of the NISARD Certification (NICERT) Services, said these organic products include fertilizers, vegetables, herbs, fruits, grains, coffee, sugarcane, meat, poultry, and aquaculture. It also covers the production, processing and distribution of these products, he added.

Producers that have undergone NICERT organic certification are Fresh Start General Merchandising in Silay and Sagay City; Buro-buro Springs Vermi Farms in Talisay City; Dublin Bio-Industries in Cebu City; Sag-ang Organic Coffee Producers Association (SOCPA) in La Castellana; La Carlota Organic Coffee Producers Association (LACOCPA) in La Carlota City; Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation, Inc. (AIDFI) in Cauayan; Organic Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative (OF-MPC), Humayan Ministry Negros, and Tabunan Organic Farm in Bago City; Iliranan Tribal Council in San Carlos City; Josefina Ledesma of Hinigaran; Kent Javelosa, Joseph Edgar Sarrosa, and Alfredo Marañon of Sagay City, Ramon Peñalosa of Victorias City and Manapla; Winnie Albarillo of Bago City; and Merco Obas of San Carlos City. Of the total NICERT certified producers, 327 are small farmers belonging to smallholder groups, Gasparillo said.

NICERT addresses the growing needs of producers to protect consumers from falsely-claimed organic products, Gasparillo said. He added that NICERT assists clients in the technology transfer and promotion of their certified products.

NICERT is a local independent organic guarantee system that is tailored fit to the unique conditions of the island but globally competitive. It follows the strict standards set by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), ISO 65, and the Philippine National Standards on Organic Agriculture. It was established in 2007 and became fully operational in January 2009. The Organic Inspectors’ Association of Negros Island (OIA-NI) was organized to handle inspection work of various products for organic certification.

Sustainable development initiatives like organic certification are geared towards making Negros Island the “Organic Food Basket of Asia.

FITS Buenavista hosts calamansi farmers forum

On January 14, 2010, the Farmers Information and Technology Services (FITS) Center in Buenavista, Guimaras, backed by the local government of Buenavista and the Guimaras State College (GSC) sponsored a farmers’ forum on organic farming and calamansi production featuring Dr. Eleuterio Guarino, professor of the Aklan State University (ASU).

Under the theme “Buenavista: Amligan, Patahumon, Pasanyugon,” the convention gathered some 60 calamansi farmers and raisers from 19 barangays of Buenavista. Specializing in crops production, Guarino shared to participants functional know-how and useful practices in raising calamansi while rendering helpful insights on organic farming.

The forum generated valuable comments from participants. For one, 82-year-old farmer Jesus Medina who maintains some five hectares of rolling plantation for calamansi in barangay Mantangingi found the concepts on organic farming helpful that he will practice vermi-composting in his farm. Medina said his previously abandoned calamansi farm is now being rehabilitated. He now is working on it through the help of two farm hands. With added know-how, Medina hopes to profit from his calamansi farm.

Partners Elme Tayo and Janie Legita, who have been sharing a 1.5-hectare farm in barangay Tanag for more than ten years, said that the seminar refreshed their knowledge on calamansi even as they try to practice organic farming in their farms. According to them, Guarino gave particularly fresh ideas on planting, pruning and other cultivation practices which they can use in their farms. Tayo and Legita also said that in order to make profit, they usually ship them to Bacolod and Iloilo City where the price of calamansi is higher. They are hoping that the local government can find a way by which their yield can be marketed for a higher price.

Meanwhile, Theresa Pama of barangay San Nicolas keeps a two-hectare farm and maintains a nursery in her own backyard. Although she profited from her harvest last year, she says that calamansi processing will help boost their sales and even lure more producers.

Guarino likewise acknowledged the importance of processing, and supported that marketing is essential to calamansi production. FITS Manager Jonathan Elidia echoed this sentiment, saying that calamansi processing is the prime concern that needs to be addressed. Elidia also recognized the importance of establishing a farmers; organization that can institutionalize the concerns of calamansi farmers in Buenavista.

According to Techno Gabay Team Leader Lilian Diana Parreño, GSC’s research director, Pama is being groomed for Magsasaka Siyentista evaluation by the Western Visayas Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (WESVARRDEC) this year.

The forum was made possible through the coordination of FITS Buenavista and Guimaras State College, its partner member agency.