MS Peñalosa’s Field Day showcases improved swine production

By Jethro Dagunan

Representative, Regional Applied Communications Group

Carlos Hilado Memorial State College

MS Peñalosa briefs beneficiaries on his technologies
in his own farm in Victorias City.

 “I am not just a farmer; I am an agri-preneur,” quipped Ramon Peñalosa, Jr., Magsasaka Siyentista (MS) of the Western Visayas Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (WESVARRDEC) during his Field Day on Improved Housing and Swine Fattening held on January 25, 2012 in Victorias City, Negros Occidental.

Peñalosa’s Field Day showcased his success on improved housing for swine fattening and the successful transfer of said technology to 22 farmer beneficiaries in his locality. Just a small area situated within the city, Peñalosa’s farm showcases improved organic farming practices, which are profitable and environment-friendly.

Featuring the graduation rites of the beneficiaries, the Field Day was witnessed by barangay and city officials including Councilor Melvin Ybañez of Victorias City, Escalante FITS Center Manager Ferdinand Alico and farmers’ groups from Manapla, Negros Occidental, among others. The showcase was also witnessed by interested non-government organizations and private individuals.

RTTP Coordinator
Reynaldo Dusaran of CPU

Representing WESVARRDEC Director Joseph Idemne, Dr. Reynaldo Dusaran, Regional Techno Transfer and Promotion (RTTP) Coordinator, echoed MS Peñalosa’s slogan, “There is no unproductive farm; only unproductive farmer,” which encourages farmers to practice and thereby benefit from the effectiveness of the farmer scientist’s agricultural practices.

In response, a farmer beneficiary said that they appreciate Peñalosa’s innovations because aside from the absence of antibiotics and growth hormones, Peñalosa’s swine also has unique meat quality and less fat. This is so because as part of Peñalosa’s improved housing for swine, the pig pens are designed particularly so that swine manure is systematically converted to vermicast. Considered an excellent organic fertilizer, vermi manure allows for improved swine production and additional profit.

And under the Science and Technology-Based Farm (STBF) granted by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD), Peñalosa uses the probiotics, a series of technologies which promotes organic swine fattening. These practices are consistent with the Organic Negros campaign of the province.

According to another beneficiary, MS Peñalosa did not only inspire the farmers to replicate his technology; his detailed lectures on his technology also prove that they are doable and profitable.

MS Ramon Peñalosa's probiotic swine

Among others, MS Peñalosa stressed the sustainability of a farming venture can be brought about by the farmer’s entrepreneurial spirit. For Peñalosa, a farmer must possess agripreneurial spirit—he while is passionate in his farming, he must also have an enterprising attitude to maximize the opportunities in his farm. Put simply, Peñalosa said that he must make real money from his hard work, just like the farmer scientist himself.

Aside from the certificate of completion, the farmer beneficiaries were given piglets and were taken to sign the Marketing Agreement with MS Peñalosa. Under the arrangement, farmer beneficiaries will also be provided feeds, probiotics, Natural Food Supplement (NFS) and others input to help them start becoming agripreneurs. Farmers will pay back through selling their produce to MS Peñalosa. For their part, the barangay and other local officials were requested to help monitor the progress of the said beneficiaries.

Facilitators and participants during the Field Day of MS Ramon Peñalosa, Jr.

Dao FITS Center, LGU celebrate farmers’ bountiful harvest

By Niño Manaog

University Extension Associate

Capiz State University

On September 16, 2011, all roads lead to the municipality of Dao, Capiz for its first ever Farmers’ Day Celebration and Agri-Trade Fair.

The celebration of the farmers’ bountiful harvest was led by Dao’s government particularly its Farmers’ Information and Technology Services (FITS) Center in partnership with the Western Visayas Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (WESVARRDEC) and the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Under the proactive leadership of Dao Mayor Joselito Escutin, and through the dynamic efforts of the Dao FITS Center led by Manager Ma. Susan Dordas in coordination with WESVARRDEC, the farmers’ event showcased the best agricultural practices of the municipality.

Anchored on the theme “Likasaka para sa Aning Masagana,” the first farmer day celebration showcased the best agricultural yields of the town of Dao, and featured no less than Magsasaka Siyentista (MS) Ramon Peñalosa, Jr. of Negros Occidental for its resource person. Peñalosa graced the occasion by sharing with the Dao farmers and constituents his expertise and experiences in organic rice farming and livestock-raising.

And to showcase the best yield of the province, Dao FITS Center led the selection of best gardens under the Food Always in the Home (FAITH) program across the municipality. Promoting food sustainability in the households, FAITH program encourages barangay households to plant and sustain a wide array of vegetables and crops that will make them self-reliant.

For the community gardens category, barangay Centro placed first, followed by Lacaron and Poblacion Ilawod. For the schools category, Malonoy Elementary School won first place; Quinayuya Elementary, second and Dao Central Elementary, third. For the barangay health station (BHS) category, Matagnop won first; Malonoy, second; and Agtambi, third. For the day care centers category, Lacaron Day Care Center won first; followed by Bita Day Care Center and Matagnop Day Care Center.

Farmer Tomas Estorninos of Matagnop topped the household category, followed by Arnel Faraon of Bita and Rosa Clorion of Ilas Norte. Estorninos maintained 33 types of vegetables crops and medicinal plants. Estornino also raised goats and native chickens in his 400-sq.m.area.

According to Dordas, FAITH gardens have been in existence since the Green Revolution in the 1980s. The town of Dao likewise chose the best harvest crops from the farmers—longest beans, eggplant and white squash and biggest kalabasa and Saba and Cavendish bananas. Winners in these contests were awarded trophies, cash price and garden tools.

According to Deogracias Tianchon, Jr., Dao’s top municipal councilor, the town has recently passed Municipal Ordinance 011-005, series of 2011, or the “Ordinance Providing for the Adoption of the R.A. 10068 otherwise known as the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010 in the Municipality of Dao, Capiz.” The first among the towns of the province to adopt R.A. 10068 launched by DA, Dao is optimistic for its production of crops and vegetables by fortifying its organic practices campaign.

Ms. Joyce Wendam, regional technical director of the Department of Agriculture (DA), expressed support for Dao’s initiative citing the challenge and importance of sustainable agriculture in the countryside. For his part, Mayor Escutin said that the bottom line of these and other projects is food sustainability in the community. The festival was also attended by local officials of Dao and the province of Capiz.

CapSU TG team leader trains Ivisan farmers on vegetable, organic farming

By Niño Manaog

University Extension Associate

Capiz State University

On June 28, 2011, Training Coordinator Eduardo Navarra of the Capiz State University (CapSU) Extension Institute led a training lecture on organic farming and vegetable production to some 20 farmers representing barangays Ondoy, Matnog, Sta. Cruz, Ilaya and Basiao, all of Ivisan town in Capiz.

Held at the Ivisan Farmers Information and Technology Services (FITS) Center in Poblacion, Ivisan, Capiz, the livelihood training formed part of the two-day Vegetable Production and Post-Harvest Handling Training led by the Office of the Municipal Agriculturist (OMA) of Ivisan under the leadership of Municipal Agriculturist Letecia Andrada and Agricultural Technologist Giovannie Lawag.

Among others, Eduardo Navarra briefed the participants on the disadvantages of commercial modern farming and stressed on the advantages of organic farming, stressing on how to best equip and protect the soil for quality production.

According to Navarra, commercial modern farming using too much chemicals and pesticides not only depletes the soil quality but also harms human beings. In turn, he stressed on the benefits that farmers would get from practicing organic farming technologies.

Navarra, CapSU Techno Gabay team leader, highlighted the projects of Ramon Peñalosa, Magsasaka Siyentista (MS) of fits opa Negros Occidental who practices integrated natural farming and produces his own insecticides, pesticides and similar other technologies in his farms in Victorias City and Manapla, Negros Occidental.

Navarra also suggested that farmers should make their own foliar fertilizers like Dao FITS Center in Dao, Capiz whose focus commodity (indigenous microorganism concoctions) very well complements and assists organic farming.

Navarra also urged the participants to form a group of farmers in their little communities who would focus on producing organic vegetables and crops because there will always be demand for them. He likewise assured that the local government of Ivisan led by Mayor Felipe Neri Yap will always welcome such initiatives if only to serve the members of the locality.

The lecture orientation, along with some demonstration of some farming materials and technologies, drew favorable response from a number of farmers.

Sixty-year-old Danilo Obrigue who maintains some 1.5 hectares of palay and 4,000 sq.m. planted to vegetables said he plans to try organic farming because it proves economical and friendly to people’s health. The former barangay captain of Ondoy said that vegetable growers in their locality were inspired by the type of farms they saw in Palayamanan in barangay Mianay that they would want to replicate it in their own barangay. For Obrigue, this is now the time to inspire others to pursue organic farming.

Seventy-one-year-old Mercedes Aldea, who has been farming in Sitio Balangasan in Ondoy since 1964, saw the ease in practicing organic farming. It is pasil (easy) because it makes use of materials that can be found in our very surroundings. She herself uses rice straws and chicken manure for compost and fertilizer and plans to maintain the same in her one-half hectare land planted to palay and banana. Aldea also produces patola and vegetables which she periodically sells in Ivisan market.

Meanwhile, 54-yr-old Avelina Benosa who has a 9,000 sq.m.- rented piece of land planted to coconut, banana and native ginger also wants to produce vegetables. For this purpose she considers sustaining their farm using both commercial and organic farming. For Benosa, she would adapt any practice that would best add to her productivity.

The two-day initiative also covered lectures and demonstrations on seed selection and site selection, integrated nutrient management, integrated pest management, post-harvest handling practices and marketing.

Young Negros Occidental farmer named Gawad Saka national finalist

By Vishia Mae Tolcidas

Regional Applied Communications Group (RACG) Representative

FITS OPA Negros Occidental

This week, the Gawad Saka National Technical Committee will come to Negros Occidental to validate the projects of a young farmer-leader vying to be the country’s Outstanding Young Farmer of the Year.

Twenty-five year old Vito Binondo of barangay Guiljungan, Cauayan, Negros Occidental will be evaluated by the six-member committee headed by Dir. Alberto Maningding when they come to visit his three-hectare integrated farm at the Negros State College of Agriculture (NSCA), Provincial 4-H Club Coordinator Ma. Elena Gumban said.

Binondo is among the nine national finalists of the 2011 Gawad Saka, an annual search that recognizes the hard work and laudable effort of farmers all over the country.

According to Director Larry Nacionales of the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Unit 6, Binondo’s trainings both here and abroad could help him much in applying his know-how in agriculture to expand his projects into a more productive and renowned project site for the province.

During the Pasidungog sa Mangunguma kag Mangingisda sa Panaad in April this year, Gov. Alfredo Marañon awarded Binondo as outstanding young farmer of Negros Occidental (see photo). He also won first place in the organic fertilizer making contest in the same event.

Early this year, Binondo won second in the same contest in the Regional Achievement and Recognition Day of the Western Visayas 4-H Club Youth Development Program.

Binondo comes from a less-privileged farming family and is the eldest of seven children. He grows palay, corn, vegetables and flowers while he raises goat, swine and poultry. He also has a mini-forest, nursery of forest and fruit trees, forage grassland, fish pond and vermicomposting.

NSCA Cauayan Chair for Instruction Germa Borres said Binondo was a student volunteer farm worker active in numerous agriculture-related activities. After earning a Diploma in Agricultural Technology, Binondo ventured into income-generating projects to help provide for his family. In April 2011, he completed his degree of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture major in Animal Science.

For Binondo, his greatest achievement is being a participant of the Japan Agricultural Exchange Council’s Young Filipino Farmers Training Program in 2007–2008 where he acquired skills in swine breeding and fattening.

Currently, he is the director of the 4-H Club Regional Federation.

MS Peñalosa, MS Tubongbanua featured in farmers’ forum

By Niño S. Manaog

University Extension Associate

Capiz State University

In the first Regional Techno Gabay Summit that drew some 500 participants from the different partner member agencies across Western Visayas, WESVARRDEC featured Magsasaka Siyentista (MS) Ramon Peñalosa of Negros Occidental and MS Rebecca Tubongbanua of Guimaras in a farmers’ forum held on May 25, 2011 at the Amigo Plaza Mall Events Center, in General Luna Street in Iloilo City.

To some 150 members of the FITS Centers and PMAs, MS Tubongbanua shared her story which gave rise to the McNester Products product line. Meanwhile, MS Ramon D. Peñalosa, Jr. engaged the audience in an otherwise unholy hour when he promoted his integrated natural farming practices in Victorias City and Manapla, Negros Occidental.

The forum drew valuable and satisfied responses from the audience. For one, Assistant Director Cesar Frias of PCARRD’s Applied Communications Division lauded the speakers, and stayed glued during the entire lectures. Mr. Emmanuel Reyes of Philfoodex commended Peñalosa for his antics and charismatic stage presence, which favourably engaged the audience.

Both MS excel in their respective technologies and field of expertise and will be featured in an upcoming book on farmer scientists, their products and innovations by WESVARRDEC.

In the audience were a number of MS representing the six provinces of Western Visayas. These were Margarito Andrade of FITS Banga, Aklan, president of WESVARDEC’s Farmer Scientists Bureau; Baltazar Gumana and Joselito Pudadera of FITS Pavia, Jose Vincent Alemany of FITS Escalante City, Negros Occidental; Leuel Divinagracia of FITS Dumangas, Iloilo; Jose Maria Eclavia of FITS Igbaras, Iloilo; Marbelyn Narzo and Nonito Ignacio of FITS Nabas, Aklan; Rolando Lamigo of FITS Batad and Aniolino Matutino of FITS Lemery; Rita Candoleza of FITS Tubungan, Iloilo; Norberto Ceballos of FITS Maasin, Iloilo; Ma Theresa Pama of FITS Buenavista, Guimaras; Pio Vergabera of FITS CapSU Mambusao and Antonio Villodres of FITS Dao, Antique.

Organic certification featured at WESVARRDEC techno summit

By Vishia Mae Tolcidas

Representative
Regional Applied Communications Group (RACG)

FITS OPA Negros Occidental

When consumers buy products that are certified organic, they get more value for their money and are protected against fake organic products.

This is according to Organic Guarantee Officer Robert Gasparillo of the Negros Island Organic Certification Services (NICERT) during the first Regional Techno Gabay Summit and TechnoMart at the Amigo Plaza Hall in Iloilo City recently.

The Western Visayas Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (WESVARRDEC), techno summit's convener, deemed organic product certification important to its members because it serves as tool in the commercialization of science-and-technology-based products.

SWEET FOR MY SWEET, SUGAR FOR MY HONEY

According to WESVARRDEC Director Joseph Edward Idemne, the consortium will push for the certification of Antique’s muscovado sugar this year. Photo shows Hamungaya muscovado represented here by Ms. Joyce Pachoco during the WESVARRDEC TG Summit.

The WESVARRDEC summit was attended by Magsasaka Siyentista (farmer scientists), members of colleges and universities, and representatives of the Farmers’ Information and Technology Services (FITS) Centers in Western Visayas.

According to Gasparillo, producers likewise benefit from organic certification because they could already sell their products at premium prices in both local and international markets. Certified-organic products enjoy brisk sales in Metro Manila, Europe, Canada, Japan and the US because they are healthy and chemical-free.

Gasparillo said small farmers like the muscovado producers of Antique are a priority of NICERT. “They could avail themselves of funds under the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010 which provides for 900 million pesos for the first two years of implementation,” he said.

Organic certification covers the whole production process based on documents and field visits, and is cost-efficient because it is partly subsidized by the Negros Occidental Provincial Government.

Like WESVARRDEC and the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (PCARRD-DOST), NICERT assists clients in the technology transfer and promotion of their certified products.

Established in 2007, NICERT has already certified the products of 20 individuals, smallholder groups and firms from Negros, Iloilo and Cebu. These products include fertilizers, vegetables, herbs, root crops, fruits, grains, coffee, sugarcane, meat and poultry, aquaculture, and processed foods.

An independent, third-party organic certification body that is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and member of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), NICERT is an offshoot of sustainable agriculture and rural development initiatives geared towards making Negros Island the Organic Food Bowl of Asia.

Be organic agripreneurs, Western Visayas farmers urged

By Vishia Mae Tolcidas

Representative, FITS OPA Negros Occidental

Regional Applied Communications Group (RACG)

WESVARRDEC

Be agri-preneurs; there’s money in organic farming”—such was the encouragement of established agri-preneur and organic farming practitioner Ramon Dayrit Peñalosa, Jr. in the forum titled Business Opportunities in Organic Farming during the first Regional Techno Gabay Summit and TechnoMart held on May 25–26, 2011 at Amigo Plaza Mall in Iloilo City.

MR ORGANIC
MS Ramon Peñalosa keeps his fingers crossed
for the future of organic agriculture the province.
For the farmer scientist, after having started
to convert 10% of its agricultural lands to organic,
Negros Occidental is on its way to being the top producer
of organic products in the country—
and eventually, the Organic Bowl of Asia.

The Magsasaka Siyentista (MS) of the Farmers’ Information and Technology Services (FITS) Center based in the province of Negros Occidental, Peñalosa urged fellow farmers to consider farming as a business venture.

According to MS Ramon Peñalosa, “as farmers, we should be entrepreneurs. Farmers should be the one to create the demand, and satisfy it.” Peñalosa said natural farming is a global irreversible concern in all fields of business because it has grown to more than USD80 billion annually from only USD20 billion five years ago.

MS Peñalosa believes that while people react against synthetics for health and environmental reasons, going natural is the wave of the future. The farmer scientist expressed optimism, saying, “Mother Nature and Father Business can rock-and-roll in a natural, sustainable, and replicable way.”

Sponsored by the Western Visayas Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (WESVARRDEC), the summit gathered some 300 participants composed of farmer scientists, agricultural extension workers and technology and marketing experts.

One of the components of Pinoy S&T (Science and Technology) Services, a banner program of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (PCARRD-DOST), TechnoMart brings S&T-based products from the farm to the market, farm to the kitchen, and farm to the table.

DA 6 shares R.A. 10068 to Dao, Capiz

By Niño S. Manaog

University Extension Associate

Capiz State University

During the Seminar on Mitigating Climate Change Impact in Agriculture Through Organic and Natural Farming Technology held in Lolet’s Eco Park in barangay Duyoc, Dao, Capiz on March 16, 2011, Dr. Hector Peñaranda, officer-in-charge of the Specials Concerns and Institutional Development Unit of the Department of Agriculture (DA) Region 6, zoomed in on practices which the farmers can adopt to fully participate in the advocacy campaign for climate change.

Among other measures, local farmers can implement changes in cropping pattern; adoption of appropriate technology; establishment of adjustment crops; alternative livelihood; buffer stocking which provides for the farming resiliency in dire times; and organic farming.

Peñaranda also discussed the nitty-gritty of the effects of agro-climatic in-disease. Peñaranda cited the gross emission of greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide, methane and carbon dioxide most probably produced by agricultural sector worldwide. “We can only limit, mitigate but not stop [the adverse effects of] climate change,” Peñaranda said.

DA’s Peñaranda covered discussions of the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010, otherwise known as Republic Act 10068, citing that there is an urgent need to campaign, promote, and practice organic farming practices by institutionalizing it through the government agencies concerned.

According to Peñaranda (right photo), DA Region 6 recently partnered with three NGOs—two in Negros Occidental, one in Iloilo—jointly pursuing organic agriculture campaigns and advocacies. Such partnerships will allow for more participation and implementation of organic agriculture advocacy and development plans.

Five municipalities in Capiz applied for organic agriculture programs seeking grants for implementation. Penaranda urged the Capiz constituents to work toward realizing it.

Peñaranda presented the hierarchy and the mechanisms involved in the regional implementation of the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010. As per the said law, DepEd is also urged to have Organic Agriculture embedded across the learning curricula.

In the same initiative attended by some 80 participants representing many sectors in Dao, Capiz, FITS Dao Manager Susan Dordas also lectured on the global climatic events brought about by climate change, citing likewise the causes, effects and impact of the said phenomenon on agriculture industry.

FITS Dao hosts climate change forum

By Niño Manaog

University Extension Associate

Capiz State University

To launch the Dao Organic Agriculture Program (DOAP) and upcoming projects on organic agriculture in their municipality, the Farmers Information and Technology Services (FITS) Center based in Dao, Capiz hosted a Seminar on Mitigating Climate Change Impact in agriculture through Organic And Natural Farming Technology System at Lolet’s Eco Park in barangay Duyoc, Dao, Capiz on March 16, 2011.

Some 80 participants—including 20 barangay captains and chairpersons of their respective committees on agriculture, employees and heads of LGU offices and other government agencies like agriculture, interior and local government, social welfare and development, health and Education—attended the series of lecture inputs from agriculture and technology experts.

FITS Manager Susan Dordas presented a comprehensive report on the global impact of climate change and instances of natural disasters worldwide. Dordas also discussed the causes and effects of climate change and their impact on the agriculture industry. According to Dordas, it is important to note that the agriculture industry contributes to the huge amounts of methane and nitrous oxide which rather deplete the earth’s ozone layer, which even contributed to the current global warming phenomenon.

For his part, Dr. Hector Peñaranda, officer-in-charge of the Special Concerns and Institutional Development Unit of the Department of Agriculture (DA) Region 6, shared to the audience a number of mitigating and adoptive measures done by farmers across the country in response to climate change. More important, Peñaranda briefed the participants on Republic Act 10068, otherwise known as the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010, the government’s lead program to help alleviate the environmental crisis.

Technology Services Specialist Genes Estialbo of FITS Dao and Techno Gabay Team Leader Eduardo Navarra of the Capiz State University promoted the benefits of organic farming and the use of effective microorganisms-based fertilizers and pesticides as component for a productive and sustainable farming. Agricultural Technologist Eliza Ledesma also promoted the Food Always in the Home (FAITH) Garden as a household food security mechanism. Widely advocating the benefits of the natural farming technology system, the said extension workers urged the Daonons to work harder in their farms and also advocated the natural farming systems (NFS) practices of Ramon Peñalosa, Magsasaka Siyentista (MS) of the Western Visayas Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium. Peñalosa practices NFS in his Manapla and Victorias City farms in Negros Occidental.

Among others, Dennis Escutin, 31-year old technology and livelihood education teacher at the Dao National High School, said the forum made him better understand vital agricultural practices particularly on the use and effectiveness of indigenous microorganisms (IMO) as vital components for good farming. “Damo na ang akon nga resources kag materials nga puwedeng ipanghatag sa mga estudyante” (I now have more materials and resources to give to students), said Escutin, who is also adviser of high school students on their school-based agri projects.

According to Dordas, proponent of the DOAP, they have lined up more activities this year to further institutionalize and fully implement organic agriculture in their locality. The initiative was largely supported by the local government of Dao led by Mayor Joselito Escutin and Vice Mayor Loreto Eslaban. The Capiz State University, partner member agency under the banner of WESVARRDEC, covered the event.

MS Divinagracia shares pantat hatching technique

On November 17, 2010, CPU TGP Team members led by RACG representative Prof. Hope G. Patricio and RMISG representative Engr. Aries Roda D. Romallosa revisited the pantat hatchery of MS Luel Divinagracia in Sitio Bulod II, Brgy. Pulao, Dumangas to document his unique way of hatching pantat through actual demonstration.

It all starts with choosing the ideal gravid pantat that is about to lay the eggs and the male pantat. The pituitary gland of the male pantat is removed, crushed and mixed with sodium chloride solution. The mixture is then injected to both sides of the upper dorsal fin of the gravid pantat. The newly injected females together with other males are placed in a basin with water covered with screen. The basin is then placed in an area where people usually pass by so that the male pantat will thrush around bumping the pregnant pantat. This bumping loosens the eggs making it easier to squirt them out.

This unique way of hatching was developed by MS Divinagracia after observing other hatcheries and by trial and error method when he was just starting in the business. Mr. Divinagracia is the Magsasaka Siyentista of FITS Dumangas. (Hope G. Patricio, RAC Representative, Central Philippine University)

MS Divinagracia in his catfish hatchery, catfish skull about to be opened, and injecting the solution to the gravid pantat.