AGRI ZACcess Ideas

Coir & Dust From Coconut Husk

2012-02-21T21:18:00.002+08:00

Threeprocessing plants in Aurora province are converting the coconut husk intoimportant byproducts, thus maximizing the income of farmers from their trees.

The coconut coir or fiber that is extractedfrom the husk by means of a decorticating machine is made into twines which arewoven into coco net used in erosion control. The nets are installed in slopingareas to prevent the soil from eroding. Vetiver grass or some other vegetationis grown where the net is spread so that after several years, when the coco netshall have disintegrated, the grasses will already be well established to holdthe soil. There are other uses of the coir aside from geotextile or coco net.

Another byproduct of coir extraction is thecoco peat or dust which is also useful in agriculture. The dust is processedinto potting medium for vegetables and other plants. In fact, the East-WestSeed Company is said to be buying about 30 tons of coco peat from Aurora everymonth. The coco dust is also a valuable material for the manufacture of organicfertilizer.

The three coco coir and coco peat processingplants are located in Brgy. Reserva in the capital town of Baler, another inthe town of San Luis and the third in Casiguran. The three plants can produce36 tons of dried coconut coir per month. The coco dust is much more because thecoir is just about 30 percent of the husk.

The processing plants have been put up underthe initiative of Sen. Edgardo Angara who is very much interested inagriculture. A company called Principe Agribusiness Corporation is running theprocessing operations in the three plants.

The farmers make money by bringing theirhusk to the processing plant as well as in twining and making coco net out ofthe fiber. Salvador B. Panes Jr. whomanages the company said that the farmers are paid 25 centavos for every kiloof husk that they deliver.

The processing plant decorticates the husksand then the farmers are given fibers to make into twines and which they weaveinto coco net. Twining and weaving are family undertakings which are a goodsource of income for the farm families.

According to Panes, a family can make fourrolls of coco net measuring one meter wide and 20 meters long. For every onesquare meter woven, they are paid P22 or P440 per roll. That means they canmake P1,760 per day if they finish four rolls.

The coco peat is still to be fully utilized.There is a possibility that an organic fertilizer company can tie up with theAurora processing plants in producing organic fertilizer. Dr. Rene Sumaoang whoproduces Durabloom fertilizer has indicated interest in a project like that.

Aurora is rich in coconut trees. It isclaimed to have the biggest number of trees of all the provinces in Luzon. Ithas more coconuts than either Laguna or Quezon. In the capital town of Baleralone, it is claimed to have 14,000 hectares planted to coconut.

The province is also said to have the biggestcoconut nursery. It produces 16,000 seedlings a year. According to Sen. Angara,the nuts from Aurora are 20 percent more meaty than those from other provinces.The nuts are also bigger.

The young coconut or “buko” from Aurora aresupplied to Central Luzon up to Laoag City in the north. The coconut used formaking “bukayo” in Pangasinan is sourced from Aurora.

EMMA JAMES & MICHELLE CALICA

2012-02-21T21:10:00.004+08:00

Emma James and Michelle Calica are working together
in putting up school vegetable gardens in five schools
in Baler, Maria Aurora and Dipaculao. Michelle is a UP
Los Banos graduate while Emma is a student taking up
anthropology and education in Bowdain College in the
USA. Before coming to the Philippines she traveled in
Vietnam for six months.

American Girl Volunteers to OMG

2012-02-21T21:03:00.001+08:00

SEN. EDGARDO ANGARA AND EMMA JAMES

A20-year-old girl student from Brunswick, Maine, in the United States hasvolunteered her services to the “Oh My Gulay” program in Aurora province,helping encourage school children to eat vegetables and at the same time learnto grow them.

She is Emma James, a student at the BowdainCollege in Brunswick, majoring in anthropology and education. She comes from afarming family that produces organic vegetables and beef cattle. She has beenin Aurora since January 16 and is collaborating with Michelle Calica, thevegetable technician of East-West Seed Company, in putting up vegetable gardensin the school grounds of five elementary schools in the province.

Michelle Calica, her partner, is a graduatefrom UP Los Banos who has been assigned by East-West Seed Company to implementthe OMG program in the five schools in the towns of Baler, Maria Aurora andDipaculao.

OMG is a program initiated by Sen. EdgardoAngara as an answer to the prevailing malnutrition among children in thecountry. By undertaking the growing of vegetables right in the premises ofelementary and high schools, it is hoped the children will learn to love eatingvegetables and at the same time will also become familiar with the basics of growingthe same. The program is being implemented in many schools in the country incollaboration with East-West Seed Company which has been developing anddistributing high-yielding varieties of vegetables and other high-value crops.

In the school garden, improved vegetables aregrown the scientific way. The soil is thoroughly prepared, processed organicfertilizer is incorporated in the plots, plastic mulch is used and otherimproved techniques are employed. The school children are themselves involvedin doing the gardening chores hands-on.

Among the vegetables that they have beenplanting in the school gardens are tomatoes, eggplant, sitao, pepper, cucumber,ampalaya, okra, pechay, lettuce and others.

Sometime in March, when most of thevegetables would be harvestable, a field day will be conducted at the MariaAurora Elementary School garden. Teachers, parents and other residents in theother towns in the province will be invited to attend the occasion. This is toshow to as many people as possible the results of growing vegetables thescientific way.

Usually on such occasions, there’s avegetable cooking competition where the teachers and parents as well asstudents may cook their favorite vegetable recipes and winners are declared.Token rewards are given to the participants. And there’s a tasting of thecooked food.

Emma James, by the way, is an adventurousstudent. She got a grant from the Sen. George Mitchell Institute so she couldtravel to Southeast Asia. Before coming to the Philippines, she stayed inVietnam observing community development.

She happened to read about the Oh My Gulayproject initiated by Sen. Angara and thought it would be an interestingexperience to participate in promoting vegetable growing in the schools. Shecontacted Sen. Angara who was only too eager to accommodate her wish. Now shestays in one of the houses of the senator in the capital town of Baler.

By the way, Emma has learned to love thevegetable dishes in the Philippines. One of her favorites is ampalaya which issomething new to her. She also likes the edible fern collected from the wildthat is made into salad or cooked with coconut milk together with otheringredients.

She will stay in the Philippines for a fewmore months before she goes back to the US to finish her studies inanthropology and education. She has three more semesters to go. She hopes toreturn to the Philippines to do her own field study.

Back home, she says her parents take care of100 beef cattle raised the organic way. They have 200 acres for growing hay forthe animals. On four acres, they grow for sale organic potatoes, pumpkins,leafy grees, tomato, sweet corn and more.

Dr. William Dar Writes a Book

2012-02-15T18:08:00.001+08:00

Feeding the ForgottenPoor is thetitle of a new book by Dr. William D. Dar, a multi-awarded Filipinoagricultural scientist who is currently the director general of theInternational Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)based in Hyderabad, India.

The book chronicles Dr. Dar’s perspectives intackling poverty and hunger, especially among the poor. As it is observed, theworld’s population will grow from almost 7 billion now to over 9 billion in2050. The daunting question, according to him is – will there be enough food togo around?

In his book Dr. Dar raises the question ofhow the world is going to feed the poor, in an inspiring recounting of theevents of his own life that shaped his career and his commitment to and visionof a world that is free from hunger and poverty.

Dr. Dar is a dynamic agriculturist andinternational research manager, in charge of leading ICRISAT in finding a pathtowards a smarter, healthier, more sustainable and resilient agriculturetowards the attainment of food security, particularly in the dryland tropics ofAsia and sub-Saharan Africa.

The book was launched in New Delhi onFebruary 6 by no less than the former president of India, Dr. A.P.J. Kalam. Thelaunch coincided with former president’s participation as chief guest duringthe inaugural session of the 2^nd Global Agri-Business IncubationConference: NIABI 2012. The event was organized by the Indian Council ofAgricultural Research (ICAR) in partnership with ICRISAT.

In the book’s foreword, Dr. Kalam wrote: “Thebook reveals perspectives to grow and provide food to the people wherever theylive on Earth, backed by Dr. Dar’s own experiences in multiple countries.Particularly, I am impressed with the Chapter “Innovate, Grow and Prosper”where he deals with strategic science and dynamic development.”

The book, co-written by Arun Tiwari, isdivided into four parts: (1) soil and Roots, (2) Stems, Leaves and Fruits, (3)Skin of the Earth, and (4) Growth and Prosperity. These parts correspond to Dr.Dar’s rise from national (in his native Philippines) to regional andinternational agricultural research for development and his life-longcommitment to a hunger-free world.

The book is published by the Orient Book SwanPublishing Company and will soon be available in major stores in India.

Dr. Dar who comes from Sta. Maria, IlocosSur, holds the distinction of being the first Filipino and Asian to be DirectorGeneral of ICRISAT, a member of the Consortium of CGIAR Centers. He led ICRISATinto renaissance, excellence and relevance with the motto “Science with a HumanFace”. His transformational leadership has turned ICRISAT into a forwardlooking institute, which has been ranked “Outstanding” consecutively in 2006and 2007 among the CGIAR centers

ZENY ARENAS AND LATEXLESS JACKFRUIT

2012-02-14T18:42:00.002+08:00

ZENAIDA ARENAS is an accountant who works in a government office in Los Angeles, California. She recently returned to the Philippines as a balikbayan.
She is shown here posing with two big fruits of the latexless jackfruit at the Teresa Orchard & Nursery in Teresa, Rizal.
The latexless jackfruit originally came from Malaysa in the mid-1900s. This has superior qualities. First, the inside of the fruit does not have sticky latex so that it is very easy to separate the edible from the inedible parts. No need to put oil on the fingers. The aril is bright orange, thick and sweet. Seedling trees (not grafted) will usually bear fruit as early as 2.5 years compared to the usual five years that the ordinary variety will take to start fruiting.
Jackfruit commands a high price in the market. Big fruits that are sliced into many pieces could gross as much as a thousand pesos.The biggest fruit harvested a few years back in Teresa weighed 29 kilos and had 263 seeds.

KNOWN-YOU'S SWEETEST MELON

2012-02-14T18:30:00.002+08:00

PHOTO shows how the fruit of Red Aroma, one of Known-You Seed's latest melon hybrids, looks like. It is said to be the sweetest of the melon varieties developed by the Taiwan seed company. The fruit is deep globe-shaped, and its rind is gray-green with stable nets. Fruit weighs around two kilos. The thick dark orange flesh with soft texture has a good aroma with a high Brix of 15 to 18 degrees. It can be harvested around 75 to 90 days from sowing and is good for shipping and storage. It is also claimed to be resistant to Fusarium wilt disease.
Red Aroma is one of 500 varieties of high-value crops that are being field tested at the demo farm of Known-You Philippines in Carmen, Rosales, Pangasinan. KYP is a joint venture of Known-You of Taiwan and Harbest Agribusiness owned by Toto Barcelona.

Household Wastes Made into Fertilizer

2012-02-13T12:25:00.002+08:00

There’s onecreative way of disposing household and market wastes. Instead of just dumpingthem in a dumpsite, one can convert the same into organic fertilizer. Just likewhat former Congresswoman Cynthia A. Villar has been doing in her native LasPinas City for the last 10 years.

She has shown that proper household andmarket wastes disposal can be money-making, money-saving and at the same timejob-creating.

We were invited recently to see the differentwaste disposal and livelihood programs being undertaken in Las Pinas largelythrough the initiative of Mrs. Villar through the Villar Foundation.

One of her pet projects is converting the kitchen and market wastesinto organic fertilizer. In Brgy. Pamplona II, we visited the biggestcomposting facility in the city administered by Roberto Villalon, a formerchairman of the barangay.

He showed us six big rotary steel composters,each of which can convert the raw materials into organic fertilizer in sevendays. Each composter can produce 700 to1,000 kilos of organic fertilizer a month.

Actually,the composting facility in Pamplona II is just one of the compostingfacilities. There is at least one composting machine in each of the 20barangays in the city.

Mrs. Villarsaid that they sell the compost at only P3 per kilo or P120 per 40-kilo sack.This is much cheaper than the organic fertilizers usually sold in the market.

Among thebig buyers are the farmers from Nueva Ecija who use the organic fertilizer forproducing organic vegetables, fruits and other crops.

Mrs. Villar explained that the establishmentof composting facilities in the different barangays is one way of maintaining aclean environment. Aside from that the city government saves a lot of moneyfrom hauling the garbage in the community to the dumpsite in San Pedro, Laguna.

She said that the composting facilities helpreduce the garbage that has to be disposed to the dump site which is verycostly. She said that the city government spends about P11,000 per truck ofgarbage delivered to the dumpsite. Six thousand pesos is paid per trip of thetruck that hauls the garbage. Then there is the P5,000 that is paid per trip as tipping fee to the owner of theprivate dumpsite.

The composting project is also providinglivelihood to the residents in the different villages. There are part-timeworkers who collect the garbage from each house six days of the week. They loadthe kitchen wastes and other garbage in large buckets that are well sealed. Andthe 70 garbage collectors load them in their pedal-powered tricycles.

The raw garbage passes through a presser sothat the excess moisture is removed.Then these are mixed with other ingredients such as coco peat or coir dustwhich makes the resulting compost very friable and excellent for enriching thesoil for planting various crops.

The wetgarbage collected from the households as well as from the public market ispassed through a mechanical presser that is found in each of the compostingfacilities in the city.

By the way, the coco coir dust that isincorporated in the organic fertilizer is a byproduct of another livelihood-generating project of Mrs. Villar.This is the production of what they call coco net which is used in erosioncontrol.

In the coco net project, the workers gather the buko husks thrown away by thoseselling young coconut or “buko” in many parts of Metro Manila. The coconuthusks are decorticated and the fiber collected for making the coco net.

In retrospect, Mrs. Villar said it was noteasy to convince the residents to segregate their household wastes intobiodegradable and non-biodegradable materials. About 75 percent did not want toadopt the garbage segregation system because that was something new to them.They thought it was impractical and it only added more work to the people inthe households.

Mrs. Villar, however, persisted. She askedthe religious people to help her convince the homemakers and family men to dogarbage segregation in their homes.

Today, after the residents have seen thebenefits of segregating the biodegradable from the non-biodegradable householdwastes, they have become advocates of the practice. There are now 47 compostingmachines in 29 composting centers in the 20 barangays of the city which arecapable of producing 47 tons a month. Bigger volumes are expected to beproduced in the next few years as the goal is to have about 100 composters.

Aside from the organic fertilizer from thecomposters, vermicomposting has also been adopted by Mrs. Villar. This is theproduction of vermicast and vermicompost with the use of earthworms. Mrs.Villar is a firm believer in science so that she is always on the look out forpractical science-based technology that could help improve lives in thecommunities.

Hopefully, other well-meaning individuals inother parts of the country could alsoadopt the projects of Mrs. Villar

Household Waste Made into Fertilizer

2012-02-13T12:19:00.001+08:00

ROBERTO VILLALON (right) is showing Mrs. Cynthia Villar a typical household waste newly collected from the households in Las Pinas City which is made into organic fertilizer. About 70 people with pedal-powered tricycles collect the garbage from the different households every day, except Sunday. They bring the same to the different composting facilities in the different barangays.
Villalon is the administrator of the recycling facility in Pamplona II. He was also its former barangay chairman.
Mrs. Villar is no longer a congresswoman but she continues to serve the communities in Las Pinas through the Villar Foundation. She is helping create livelihood opportunities, especially for the less privileged families.

Household Wastes Made into Fertilizer

2012-02-13T12:02:00.001+08:00

MRS. CYNTHIA VILLAR and Roberto Villalon check the organic fertilizer that was produced out of household wastes from the different communities in Las Pinas City.
Today, the composting facilities in different barngays in Las Pinas can produce more than 47 tons a month but the plan is to increase the output to 100 tons by 2013.
The production of organic fertilizer in Las Pinas resulted from the waste segregation program initiated by Mrs. Villar in 2010 when she was a congresswoman.

Buko Husk Made into Coco Net

2012-02-13T11:40:00.001+08:00

MRS. CYNTHIA VILLAR is shown here with a pile of buko husk and shell gathered from various buko stallholders in Las Pinas and other places in Metro Manila and Cavite. This waste product is usually thrown away by the buko sellers but Mrs. Villar, a former congresswoman, had the bright idea of collecting and converting the same into fiber for coco net making and coco coir dust for organic fertilizer.

Buko Waste Made into Coco Net

2012-02-13T11:30:00.002+08:00

There’s really money and job opportunity in those green coconut husks with shell usually thrown away by vendors of “buko” who are found in many places in Metro Manila.

The proof is exemplified by the project of Mrs. Cynthia Villar, a former congresswoman of Las Pinas City. Although she has finished her term in Congress, she continues to maintain projects that are deemed to enhance the environment as well as create job opportunities for the city’s residents, especially the poor.

The coco net production project extracts fiber and coco peat or coir dust from the green husks and shell of the “buko” or young coconut. The fiber is used for making coco net which is a versatile material for controlling erosion in sloping areas. On the other hand, the coco dust is used as raw material for mixing with household and market wastes to make organic fertilizer.

A decorticating machine is used to extract the fiber and dust from the green husks. The machine can extract fiber and dust from 8,000 coconut husk halves in one day. The fibers are then made into twines by women workers who usually work part time because they have to also do household work, cooking and taking care of their children.

There are 26 twining machines that are usually manned by a mother and her child. For every twine, eight meters long that they make, they are paid P1.50. On a part-time basis, mother and child can make 200 twines a day for which they receive P300.

One group of workers sort the fibers so that they are readied for twining. Most of the workers are also part-timers because they have also to do their household chores. They are happy because they can make some money without neglecting their duties at home.

Another set of workers do the weaving. Usually, two people operate one loom, also on a part-time basis. In two hours they can weave one roll measuring one meter by 50 meters. For this they are paid P200.

The big buyer of coco net is the Department of Public Works and Highways. They use this to control erosion in sloping areas along the roads and river banks. The coco net is installed in sloping areas together with seeds of grasses or shrubs. By the time the coco net has degraded after three years, according to Mrs. Villar, the grasses or shrubs will have been well established to prevent erosion.

The coco net sells for P2,000 per roll. Mrs. Villar said that about half of the price of one roll is used for paying the laborers from the gathering of the husks, decorticating to twining and weaving operations. The other half is used for maintenance of the equipment and for expansion of the project.

The buko waste materials are obtained not only from Las Pinas but also from Alabang, Paranaque and Bacoor, Cavite. The vendors are thankful for their waste products being hauled by the project of Mrs. Villar.

Mrs. Villar is also thankful for the fact that the roofed structure was available for the coco net project. She said that it was a white elephant built by the city administration several years ago. It was originally intended as a market to be used by street vendors. The vendors did not like selling their wares there so the place was abandoned. Now, it is a perfect place for the coco net project of the Villar Foundation.

The coco coir dust or peat, on the other hand, is a perfect raw material for mixing with the household and market wastes in making organic fertilizer. This is another project initiated by Mrs. Villar to inculcate the value of segregating biodegradable and non-biodegradable household and market wastes. In the process, the communities become environmentally clean and at the same time it produces an important byproduct – organic fertilizer not only for use of Las Pinas residents but also farmers who are into natural farming outside of the city.

KSK Training Program Launched in Cavite

2012-02-13T11:29:00.002+08:00

The 38th Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan training program on vegetable production was recently launched in General Trias, Cavite. This is a continuing program of SM Foundation in collaboration with Harbest Agribusiness Corporation of Toto Barcelona.
The launch was conducted at Brgy. Pasong Kawayan II with 134 farmer participants and guests. Farmer participants came from the towns of Amadeo, Dasmarinas, Gen. Trias, Imus, Mendez, Tanza and Trece Martires.
The farmer participants will be taught the dual-tech approach by KSK trainers. They will also learn the new technology of Harbest Agribusiness, namely the drip irrigation and fertigation. With this technology, water soluble fertilizer will be mixed to the water container and it will be distributed to the plants through drip irrigation drop by drop. Efficient use of water, lower labor cost and better yield are some of the benefits.
Among those present during the launching were Gen. Trias Mayor Luis Ferrer IV, Cavite provincial agriculturist Mario Silan, Cristie Angeles of SM Foundation, Toto Barcelona of Harbest Agribusiness and SM executives that included Roxanne Pangilinan, Edith Ragodo, and members of the Sanguniang Bayan members of Gen. Trias.

Horticulture Show Opens on Jan.26

2012-01-20T15:31:00.002+08:00

The annualgarden show of the Philippine Horticultural Society will open with theceremonial ribbon cutting at 4 p.m. on January 26 at the Quezon Memorial Circlein Quezon City.

Cutting the ribbon will include Butch Campos,a well known plant collector; Mrs. Cynthia Villar, an avid plant lover; andQuezon City officials, including Mayor Herbert Bautista and Vice Mayor JoyBelmonte.

The annual garden show of the PHS isconsidered one of the major shows in the country, drawing a lot of visitors toview the landscape exhibits as well as the plants in the commercial section.

Among the exhibitors are Yuyung LaO who iswell known for his many exotic ornamental plants. He is also considered one ofthe most-in-demand landscapers in the country. Another exhibitor is BoyetGanigan of Aroids and Arids. He has a big collection of rare plants in Silang,Cavite.

Other exhibitors are Fred Salud, SerapionMetilla in tandem with Dr. Romeo Gutierrez, Francis Gener of King Louis Flowersand Ornamental Plants. Gener has been a frequent winner in landscape exhibits.

Well known plant collectors like BotchieCanicula and George Mendoza will also have their exhibit booths. On the other hand, the Philippine BonsaiSociety will exhibit their prized bonsai trees while the Natural Stone Societywill display their stone collections.

There will also be exhibits by Lardy Abundo,Tess Baldonado and Marilois Estrella, the World Flower Council, the PhilippineNative Plants group, Conservation Society, Cactus and Succulent Society, thegroup of Wendy-FSG and AStiG, Mett’s Plant Arts and a community booth.

Daily lectures will be one of the highlightsof the annual garden show. The WorldFlower Council will present new trends in flower arranging at 2 o’clock in theafternoon of Friday, January 27. This will be followed by a lecture in themorning of January 28 at 10 a.m. by Dean Antonio Mateo. He will talk onrainwater harvesting. In the afternoon of the same day, 2 p.m., Teresa Sanianowill discuss how to produce natural fertilizers for garden plants as well asfor field crops.

On Sunday, January 29 at 2 p.m., SerapionMetilla will discuss “Mobile Indoor Gardening for Healthy Living.” This will befollowed the next day, Monday at 2 p.m. by a lecture on Creative Landscaping byPatrick Gozon.

On Tuesday, January 31, David Badilla willtalk on Urban Landscaping at 2 p.m. This will be followed the next day,Wednesday at 2 p.m., by a presentation by Fred Salud on “Vertical LandscapingUsing Bromeliads.” The lecture will include care and propagation.

On Thursday, February 2 at 2 p.m., thePhilippine Bonsai Society will demonstrate “Creative Bonsai Techniques.” On thefollowing day, February 3, also at 2 p.m., C.V. Lazaro will talk on “ModernTechniques in Orchid Growing.”

There will be two lectures on Saturday,February 4. In the morning, Vangie Go will talk on buri palm and its many uses.In the afternoon, it will be the turn of Mrs. Fely S. Gupit to demonstrateSaikei or tray landscaping, and Suiseki or natural stone appreciation.

Also, on Sunday February 5, Norma Villanuevawill talk in the morning on new trends in gardening. On the other hand, Zac B.Sarian will lecture in the afternoon at 2 p.m. He will discuss Money-MakingOpportunities in Exotic Fruit Trees, including growing in containers.

Meanwhile, the committee heads are Dr. RomeoGutierrez and Dory S. Bernabe, co-chairpersons; Teresa Baldonado, commercial;Dr. Romeo Gutierrez, exhibits; Modesto Manglicmot, physical arrangements; OscarDuque, security; Felicidad S. Gupit, invitation; Fernando Aurigue, judging andawards; Patricia Regalado, lectures and program; Serapion Metilla, publicity;Norma Villanueva, secretariat and raffle; Anthony Arbias, registration; RositaYu, officers of the day; Dory S. Bernabe, ways and means and reception; andVincent Canicula, finance.

FLAT-LEAF PARSLEY: Most Expensive

2012-01-20T15:22:00.000+08:00

Of the more than 20 varieties of culinary herbs in the Costales Nature Farms in Majayjay, Laguna, the most expensive is the dark green Flat-Leaf Parsley. This sells for P500 to P1,000 per kilo and is a favorite of Italian restaurants in Manila for making sauce.
The owners, Ronald and Josephine Costales, grow their parsley on elevated beds (see photo). The bed has a flooring of bamboo with a layer of net to hold the growing medium in place. The growing medium consists of carbonized rice hull, bokashi and vermicompost.
Three-week-old seedlings are planted in the elevated bed. After 60 days, the first leaves could already be harvested. Three leaves may be left in each plant so it can regrow. After a month, the leaves could be harvested again.

Watch for February Agriculture Magazine

2012-01-19T01:06:00.005+08:00

The February 2012 issue of Agriculture Magazine is being finalized. Expect to read about the latest developments in high-value crops like Cherry Tomato, new varieties of melons, sweet corn and several others. There are columns on organic farming, rice, corn and aquaculture. Agriculture Magazine is published by the Manila Bulletin and is the most widely circulated magazine in its field. It is available in bookstores as well as the distribution network of the Bulletin.

AANI Farm Tour Participants

2012-01-18T15:14:00.000+08:00

PHOTO shows some of the 80 participants in the AANI Farm Tour which attended the Techno Forum and Agri-Kapihan at the Harbest Training Farm in Carmen, Rosales, Pangasinan last January 14, 2012.
The AANI Farm Tour is a regular program undertaken by Agri Aqua Network International, visiting successful farms and projects in different parts of Luzon. The next destination will be the Costales Nature Farms in Brgy. Gagalot, Majayjay, Laguna. The date is being finalized. You may contact Pol Rubia at 0917-847-5071 for the latest information on forthcoming farm tours.

Greenhouses In The Desert

2012-01-18T14:55:00.001+08:00

ATOP A PROMONTORY in the Arava Desert in Southern Israel, Ximena Ramirez Ayala stands before a sea of greenhouses as far as your eyes can see. This is where high-value vegetables are produced largely for export to Europe, the United States and elsewhere.
Eight communities are settled in this area consisting of about 600 families or about 3,000 people.In one year some 150,000 tons of high-value crops are produced in the greenhouses, particularly peppers, tomatoes, melons and watermelons, flowers as well as ornamental fishes.
About 60% of all vegetable exports of Israel are produced in these greenhouses in the desert. Ximena (pronounced Jimena) is a lady journalist of La Republica in Cali, Colombia. She was one of the journalists invited by the Israeli government to participate in the press tour in connection with the International Agricultural Exhibition (Agritech) which will be held in Tel Aviv on May 15-17, 2012. (Zac B. Sarian photo)

Research Program Increases Available Makapuno Seedlings

2012-01-18T00:07:00.000+08:00

Makapuno is a special kind of coconut that is in big demand at a higher price than the ordinary coconut. It used to be that this special coconut was only available from trees that produced just a few makapuno nuts per bunch.

The trouble was that the makapuno nut would not germinate without any intervention so that it was difficult to produce trees that would produce almost one hundred percent, or even one hundred percent, makapuno nuts.

Thanks, however, to the pioneering research of the late Dr. Emerita de Guzman of Los Banos, the embryo of the makapuno nut was rescued and grown in the laboratory. Since then, other researchers have improved the technology so that production of one hundred percent coconut seedlings could be produced.

Today, more and more makapuno seedlings are being made available to farmers who want to plant this high-value crop. Last year, a total of 11,529 embryo-cultured makapuno (ECM) seedlings were produced to augment the usually limited supply of this coconut that bears almost 100 percent makapuno nuts.

This is a tremendous increase compared to the production of only 2,433 seedlings per year from 1996 to 2008. The increase could be attributed in a large measure to the Makapuno Comprehensive Technology Development and Commercialization Program (MCTDCP) supported by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) and implemented by the Philippine Coconut Authority from 1996 to March 2004.

The big increase in makapuno planting materials could also be attributed to new technology, particularly the new embryo culture technology which makes it possible to produce several plants from just one embryo. Before, only one coconut seedling can be produced from one embryo.

The embryo culture was first developed by the late Dr. Emerita de Guzman of UP Los Banos. The technique has undergone a lot of improvements and that is the reason why the supply is fast increasing although it cannot yet fully meet the big demand. We still know some people who can’t get enough supply of planting materials.

The project was assessed by UP Los Banos for its economic and social impacts and the conclusion is that it has significantly increased seedling production as well as nut production. For 2010 nut production, according to PCARRD, was estimated at 107,000. That’s a big jump from the average yearly production of 33,080 nuts from 1996 to 2008.

The beauty about the embryo-cultured makapuno is that the resulting trees bear almost 100 percent makapuno nuts. That is in great contrast to the old makapuno trees where only a few makapuno nuts are obtained from some bunches of regular bearing trees. And there are just a few of those trees that bear makapuno nut.

The makapuno development project consisted of two phases. The first phase is a survey of makapuno population in the Philippines while the second part concerned the establishment of satellite makapuno embryo culture laboratories and demonstration farms in selected sites for mass propagation of makapuno seedlings.

The makapuno survey generated a list of growers of makapuno trees (both the so-called ‘kabuwig’ and embryo-cultured) together with the report of individual capacities of these farmers to supply makapuno to food processors and embryos to EC laboratories.

Under the second project, six embryo culture laboratories were established in Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan; Cavite State University in Indang; PCA Research Center in Legaspi City, Albay; Tacloban City; Zamboanga City and Davao City.

Aside from the six laboratories, the program established nurseries and makapuno demonstration farms. Technical staff were trained on embryo culture technology and seedling nursery and tree farm management.

The program produced some 17,311 ECM seedlings between June 1996 and March 2004 and raised an additional 19,219 seedlings after the program (April 2004 to December 2008). Some 19,709 were dispersed from the total seedlings produced.

Promotion of ECM seedlings was done through technology awareness seminars, participation in and organization of agricultural trade fairs, distribution of flyers and other printed materials, and promotion of the makapuno demo farms to schools and other institutions.

EDIBLE FERN From the Costales Farm

2012-01-17T20:40:00.000+08:00

THESE are tender leaves of edible fern (Pako) growing wild along the periphery of the Costales Nature Farms in Majayjay, Laguna. They make very good salad in combination with other ingredients like finely chopped ginger, tomatoes, onion, green mango and Balayan bagoong. That's how the Ilocanos prepare it.
Among Tagalogs, the tender leaves are cooked with Ginatang Tilapia and Ginatang Kuhol. Also, the leaves are chopped into small pieces and incorporated in scrambled eggs.
Costales Nature Farms sells it at P25 per bundle of about one-fourth kilo. It is one of the money makers of the Costales farm.

RABBIT INTEGRATED WITH VEGGIES

2012-01-17T20:14:00.005+08:00

RONALD COSTALES who runs the Costales Nature Farm in Majayjay, Laguna, has integrated animals with his organic vegetable farming. One of them is rabbit. He feeds his rabbits with rejects or trimmings of lettuce and other vegetables.

The manure falls under the rabbit cages where there are Nightcrawler worms which are on hand to convert the manure into vermicast. The vermicast is then used for fertilizing his vegetables. The trimmings of the vegetables will then be fed again to the rabbits and the cycle goes on.

RABBIT SEMINAR - By the way, there will be a rabbit production seminar on Feb. 4 at the PRRM Conference Hall, 56 Mother Ignacia corner Lazcano Sts., Quezon City. The lecturer will be Dante Delima. Aside from rabbit production, Dr. Rey Itchon will lecture on raising pastured chickens. For more information, email: spreadorganicagriculture@yahoo.com. You may also call Sandy at 0917-847-2639. (Zac B. Sarian photo)

ROLLY BENOSA: Cherry Tomato Grower

2012-01-16T16:48:00.002+08:00

ROLLY BENOSA BEFORE A JAMPACKED AUDIENCE

ROLLY BENOSA of Sison, Pangasinan is one of the few farmers growing Cherry Tomato in the Philippines. We interviewed him in front of the attendees of the Techno Forum and Agri-Kapihan at the Harbest Training Center in Carmen, Rosales, Pangasinan. This is the same place where Known-You Philippines is field testing some 500 varieties of vegetables and other high-value crops.
Benosa admitted that there is a good potential in growing Cherry Tomato but he warns that one has to learn the right techniques of production before embarking on this project.
He said that he has attended at least three training classes on vegetable production. There's a big demand for Cherry Tomato. There are now five of them who are planting this variety in Sison. They are selling their harvest at P80 per kilo. There are times when the price is higher, especially the grape type. He plants the Amber variety which is red like grapes.
Rolly also grows Japanese cucumber which he sells to a trader in Baguio. Maybe the buyer brings it to Manila, probably passing it off as grown in Baguio. (Zac B. Sarian photo)

WHITE SQUASH AT KYP DEMO FARM

2012-01-16T16:03:00.000+08:00

HAVE you ever seen a white squash? You will only see that at the demo farm of Known-You Philippines in Carmen, Rosales, Pangasinan.
Dr. Joy E. Eusebio serves as the model showing the immaculate white squash while Tony Arcangel looks on. Dr. Eusebio is the Director of the Crops Research Division of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD). She was a special guest at the Techno Forum and Agri-Kapihan held on Saturday, January 14 at the Harbest Training Center in Carmen.
There will be a special Harvest Festival on February 4, 2012. It is expected that many of the fruits in the demo farm will already be harvestable by that time. (Zac B. Sarian photo)

LETICIA SHAHANI: Farmer

2012-01-16T15:19:00.000+08:00

SHE WAS our professor in our French class when we were in first year at the University of the Philippines. Then she joined the Foreign Service of the government where she was a diplomat for a long time. Later, she became a senator of the Republic of the Philippines.

She has retired from politics and is now in her hometown in Pangasinan doing her own brand of farming. She is now taking care of 15 Murrah buffaloes for milk production.

The lady is Mrs. Leticia Shahani, hands-on farmer. She was one of the more than 200 attendees at the Techno Forum and Agri-Kapihan at the Known-You Philippines demo farm in Carmen, Rosales, Pangasinan on Saturday, January 14, 2012. (Zac B. Sarian photo)

FRUITFUL SWEET PEPPER

2012-01-16T14:33:00.000+08:00

VANGIE SUMAOANG and Doris Arcangel pose with the very fruitful sweet pepper at the demo farm of Known-You Philippines (KYP) in Carmen, Rosales, Pangasinan.
The two attended the Techno Forum and Agri-Kapihan held on Saturday, January 14 in Carmen. Aside from the discussions at the Techno Forum and Agri-Kapihan, the attendees toured the demo farm which is planted to 500 different varieties of vegetables and other high-value crops. The varieties are being field-tested to find out their adaptability to local conditions. One of these varieties is this sweet pepper with big fruits. (Zac B. Sarian photo)

New Fruitful Finger Pepper

2012-01-15T09:36:00.001+08:00

THAT'S me, Zac B. Sarian, posing with a very fruitful hot pepper of the finger type. It is a new variety being field-tested at the demo farm of Known-You Philippines in Carmen, Rosales, Pangasinan.

The four-hectare demo farm is considered the biggest demo farm put up by Known-You of Taiwan worldwide. About 500 varieties of Known-You Seeds are being tested to find out which varieties will thrive well under Philippine conditions. That's according to Julius Barcelona, the young Psychology graduate son of Toto Barcelona who is in the management team of the new company (KYP).

Orange Squash at KYP Demo Farm

2012-01-15T08:42:00.002+08:00

Posing with the orange squash is the beautiful Director of the Crops Research Division of PCAARRD or Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development. The model is Dr. Joy Eusebio while the squash is a new variety being tested for adaptability in the Philippines by the new company called Known-You Philippines (KYP) in Carmen, Rosales, Pangasinan.
The occasion was the holding of the Techno Forum and Agri-Kapihan at the Harbest Training Farm on Saturday, January 14, 2012. This was attended by more than 200 farming aficionados not only from Pangasinan but also from other provinces, including those from Visayas and Mindanao. About 80 of the attendees were participants of the Farm Tour organized by AANI. (Zac B. Sarian photo)

Articles in Liwayway Magazine

2012-01-14T02:41:00.002+08:00

Watch for our agri articles that will come out in Liwayway Magazine (weekly) starting very soon. Currently, our writings come out two times a week in the Manila Bulletin (Agripage every Thursday and Saturday), Panorama Magazine every Sunday, Bisaya magazine (every Wednesday), Hiligaynon magazine (Ilonggo, every Wednesday) and in Agriculture monthly magazine.

Josephine Costales & Japanese Cucumber

2012-01-13T12:25:00.001+08:00

THIS is Josephine Costales of Costales Nature Farms in Gagalot, Majayjay, Laguna, showing two fruits of Japanese cucumber. The fruits are long and slender. This variety is one of the major crops of the farm, producing about a thousand kilos every week. The harvest is delivered to loyal buyers from Metro Manila who pay P80 to P120 per kilo.
Josephine had to sell her business in Laguna (12 branches of Internet Cafe) so she could help full-time Ronald, her husband, in running the Costales Nature Farms which has become a training center for organic farming and an accredited agri-tourism destination.
Contact her at 0917-544-2023.

4 Agri Books By Zac B. Sarian

2012-01-13T12:03:00.005+08:00

1. SEKRETO NG MGA SUCCESSFUL AGRI-PEOPLE, P150 per copy + 75 for mailing.

2. WINNING STRATEGIES IN AGRICULTURE, P225 per copy + 75 for mailing

3. FISHERIES IDEAS THAT WORK, P225 per copy + 75 for mailing.

4. UPDATES ON AGRI-PEOPLE AND THEIR MONEY-MAKING IDEAS, P275 per copy + 75 for mailing.

To order, text us at 0926-745-0401. Give us your complete name and address so we can tell you how to remit your payment. The books can either be mailed or sent by courier (LBC). The courier rate varies depending on how far you are from Metro Manila.

He Gave up a P270,000-a-Month Job to Become an Organic Farmer

2012-01-12T20:22:00.001+08:00

Ronald Costales and wife Josephine check their
organic lettuce grown on halved bamboo pole.

RONALD COSTALES gave up a job that gave him a monthly pay of P270,000 in 2004 as vice president for engineering of a big communications firm. He was so stressed in his job that he thought there must be a more enjoyable way of making money.

He was right. He could be making much more now in his five-hectare organic farm in Majayjay, Laguna. He devotes one hectare to various varieties of lettuce and produces 1,000 kilos a week which he sells for P150 to P200 per kilo to his loyal clients in Metro Manila. He also produces 1,000 kilos of Japanese cucumber a week which sell for P80 to P120 per kilo.

Another bestseller is French beans which fetches P150 to P200 per kilo.Then there are his numerous culinary herbs that sell for as much as P500 to P1,000 per kilo.

Ronald has gone a long way in his organic farming. He has now put up his own training center where he teaches the fine points of organic farming. His farm has now become an agri-tourist destination accredited by the Department of Tourism. Last year, he was adjudged the Most Outstanding Organic Farmer in Region IV-A or Calabarzon.

It can be said that he has found a most enjoyable way of earning big money.
The Costales Nature Farms is located in Brgy. Gagalot, Majayjay, Laguna. Ronald can be contacted at 0917-539-3080.

French Beans from Majayjay

2012-01-12T20:18:00.002+08:00

The FRENCH BEANS is a bestseller at the Costales Nature Farms today. The cool climate of Majayjay is highly suitable for the production of this legume crop. It is said to be a favorite of a chain of Italian restaurants in Metro Manila.

The Costales farm produces about 200 kilos of this variety every week which sells for P150 to P200 per kilo. It has slender pods that are crunchy and sweet. The seeds are supplied by Allied Botanical Corporation which could be contacted through Rowena Bienes at 0922-815-0057 or 0928-507-8362.

Potting Medium for Veggie Seedlings

2012-01-12T20:11:00.001+08:00

RONALD COSTALES (left) is showing Pepe Manto of AANI his favorite germinating medium for his vegetable seeds. It is a mixture of vermicast and carbonized rice hull (CRH).
Ronald is germinating a lot of seeds because he has continuous cropping of vegetables on five hectares in the cool mountain area in Brgy. Gagalot, Majayjay, Laguna.
He makes his own carbonized rice hull and he also raises African nightcrawler to produce his vermicast. The earthworms are cultured right below the cages of the rabbits so that the manure is converted into vermicast.

Organic Pigs at Costales Nature Farms

2012-01-12T20:01:00.000+08:00

THESE are hybrid pigs being raised the natural farming way at the Costales Nature Farms in Majayjay, Laguna. Here, they are feasting on vegetable scraps taken from the daily harvest.
The pigs are raised not on cemented floor but on a deep bed of sawdust, rice hull and other materials. The pigs are not bathed but the piggery does not smell the usual smell you and I know in ordinary pigpens. That's because the premises is sprayed with EM.
Besides the white pigs, Ronald Costales also raises wild boar which he crosses with the native pigs (the pure black ones).

HOT CHILI FOR BIOPESTICIDE

2012-01-12T19:49:00.000+08:00

RONALD COSTALES, the producer of organic vegetables from Majayjay, Laguna grows this hot pepper not just for selling to the market but for making his biopesticide to protect his plants from disease and pest infestation.
Here's how he concocts it. He takes 1 liter of EM in concentrated form, 1 liter of natural vinegar, 1 liter of lambanog,1 kg of crushed neem tree leaves, 2 cloves garlic, 0.5 kg hot chili and 6 liters of water.
These are mixed together and fermented in a tightly covered container for two weeks.
After that, the liquid is harvested for spraying. Mix 10 ml of the liquid per liter of water. Use this for spraying your plants.

BOKASHI ORGANIC FERTILIZER

2012-01-12T19:40:00.003+08:00

Piles of materials for making Bokashi

BOKASHI is the main organic fertilizer that Ronald Costales is using in his organic farm in Majayjay, Laguna. He is one of the most successful organic producers of high-value vegetables in the country today, supplying his harvests to leading outlets in Metro Manila.
Here's how he prepares his Bokashi. He mixes 100 kg rice bran (darak), 100 kilos carbonized rice hull (CRH), 50 kg copra meal, 200 ml Effective Microorganisms (EM) diluted with 30 liters of water, and 200 ml molasses.
He mixes these ingredients thoroughly and then places the same in a tightly covered drum. In 2 weeks, the mixture is ready for applying to the soil. The moisture content will usually be 30 to 35%
This is applied to the soil as basal fertilizer one week before the seedlings are planted, placing 100 grams per square meter. After broadcasting, he mulches the bed with rice straw or plastic mulch so that strong sunlight will not affect the microbes. Bokashi is also sidedressed in the plantation.
Ronald explains that the Bokashi is rich in organic matter and beneficial microbes such as lactic bacteria (which removes bad odor), photosynthetic bacteria which are working even without air, and yeast which is essential in enhancing root growth.

Latexless Jackfruit Has Orange Flesh

2012-01-10T19:57:00.003+08:00

That's the halved fruit of the Latexless Jackfruit. The flesh is thick and bright orange. The inside of the ripe fruit practically has no latex so that you don't have to apply oil to your fingers when you separate the edible from the inedible parts.

See posting below for additional information on the Latexless Jackfruit.

Seedlings don't have to be grafted. The plants from seeds will usually bear fruit in 2.5 years after planting in the ground.

Planting materials are available at the Teresa Orchard & Nursery in Teresa, Rizal. Call or text 0926-745-0401.

The Joy of Harvesting Your Own Fruit

2012-01-10T19:45:00.002+08:00

That's me, Zac B. Sarian, holding the latexless jackfruit I harvested this morning (Jan. 10/12). There's is that special feeling when you harvest the fruit of your labor. You feel so blessed.

We were the first in the Philippines to plant the latexless jackfruit from Malaysia in 1996. It just happened that we were the only one who planted the seeds among four friends of Gloria Balderama, a Singaporean married to a Filipino, who brought the fruit from a source in Malaysia. The three other recipients of the quartered fruit boiled their seeds for snacks.

We were really surprised when, after 2.5 years, the seedlings that we planted already bore fruit. And when the fruit was ripe, there was practically no latex inside. So it was very easy to separate the edible from the inedible parts without applying oil to the fingers.

The flesh of this variety is bright orange. The flesh is thick when it is adequately fertilized. It is very sweet, especially during the summer months.

We have been propagating the seeds up to now and many people have been telling us that they really love the latexless jackfruit.

Indigofera Is Really Very Promising Goat Feed

2012-01-10T19:14:00.002+08:00

An ongoingresearch on forage crops for goats points to a very promising potential ofIndigofera as an excellent source of protein for both the dairy and meat typegoats.

The study is being undertaken at the AlaminosGoat Farm (AGF) in Alaminos, Laguna, operated by the Almeda family, Rene andhis two sons Arthur and Toti. Indigofera is an imported leguminous tree thatproduces a lot of herbage relished by goats.

In a recent analysis, the Indigofera wasfound to have a higher protein content than malunggay and mulberry. It wasfound to contain 27.6 percent protein compared to 27.1 percent of malunggay and20.4 percent of mulberry. Both malunggay and mulberry are also being tested fortheir efficacy as animal feed.

Indigofera has also been found to be a fastgrower and high-yielder. To determine the potential yield of Indigofera on aper hectare basis, a trial plot of 10 square meters was established where 24seedlings were planted on May 25, 2011. Five months later, on October 25, thefirst cutting was made and the 24 trees yielded 12 kilos. Two months later, thesecond cutting was made. This time the trees yielded 20.3 kilos.

Rene Almeda says that at 20,000 trees perhectare after two cuttings a potential yield of 27,000 kilos can be assumed.With the succeeding cuttings every one or two months, the yield could evenincrease.

Indigofera is the main forage species thatthe Almedas are growing in their Alaminos Salad Garden. The 30 long plots thatthey have planted to different forage plants are where they cut the green feedsthat they give to their dairy goats. Each day, they harvest from one plot.

Indigofera is one species that many animalscientists of the government agencies had previously ignored. They had probablyassumed that Indigofera was not palatable for small ruminants. It was notincluded in the book on goat raising published by the PCARRD.

Rene said that he saw the research reportfrom Vietnam which showed that Indigofera has a high protein content. He thenincluded it in their salad garden. It turned out that the goats loved to eatIndigofera, especially if the leafy branches are harvested every month. Today,in their research, shredded Indigofera is mixed with the concentrate ration atthe rate of 30 percent.

Their caretaker had observed that every timehe gave the dairy goats Indigofera, their milk yield increased. This has ledthe Almedas to conduct the research in cooperation with Remedios Acacio of theBureau of Animal Industry.

One clear advantage of Indigofera over otherforage species like malunggay is that it is high yielding and it is much easierto establish and maintain. Once established, it can be easily maintained byregular fertilization with goat manure and irrigation during the dry months.

Indigofera can be easily multiplied by seed.During the last Agrilink trade show, the Almedas were able to dispose of 5,000seedlings they propagated in their farm. The Indigofera produces a lot of seedswhich germinate very easily. To produce seeds, the trees must be left to growwithout harvesting the leafy branches for feeding to the animals.

Indigofera Is Fast Growing

2012-01-10T19:09:00.001+08:00

Indigofera is fast growing and high yielding. The Alaminos Goat Farm in Laguna is conducting an ongoing study on the potential use of Indigofera as feed for milking as well as meat type goats. Indigofera is an introduced tree legume which has a high protein content of 27.6 percent, even a bit higher than the protein content of malunggay which is 27.1 percent in a recent laboratory analysis. At 7 months old, a hectare of Indigofera has a potential yield of 27 tons of green herbage which could be shredded and then added to the concentrate ration for the goats at the rate of 30 percent of the total ration. Photo shows Art Almeda measuring the growth of Indigofera in their Alaminos Salad Garden where they grow different forage species for feeding their goats.

Mature Indigofera Stems Are Removed

2012-01-10T18:54:00.001+08:00

To improve the palatability of the Indigofera for feeding goats at the Alaminos Goat Farm in Laguna, the mature branches are removed so that only the air-dried leaves are shredded for mixing with the concentrate feed. Molasses is also added to the mixture to further enhance palatability. A little salt is likewise added. Photo shows a farm worker separating the mature Indigofera stems from the leaves.

Indigofera Leaves Are Shredded

2012-01-10T18:53:00.000+08:00

Indigofera is a protein-rich tree legume that produces a high yield of herbage for feeding to goats and other animals. At the Alaminos Goat Farm, the leaves are air-dried overnight before shredding. The shredded leaves are then added to concentrate feeds at the rate of 30 percent of the whole ration. This enables the goat raiser to save on the high cost of feeds. Photo shows Art Almeda (right) and a farm worker posing with the shredder. The Alaminos Goat Farm is in Alaminos, Laguna, operated by the family of Rene Almeda and his two sons, Arthur and Toti.

Horti Asia 2012 Set May 9-11

2012-01-10T18:43:00.000+08:00

A major horticultural expo will be held on May 9 to 11, 2012 in Bangkok, Thailand to highlight the latest developments in the import-export markets. Also to be highlighted are new technologies that could help stakeholders in the horticultural industry improve their production, product quality and global competitiveness. The stakeholders include all those involved in flowers, ornamental plants, fruits and vegetables. Horti Asia will be holding its Manila Kickoff Conference on February 10 at 10 a.m. at the Sulo Riviera Hotel in Diliman, Quezon City. It will be attended by Philippine government agencies, private companies, trade associations, growers and other horticultural organizations.Thai Ambassador to the Philippines Prasas Prasasvinichai will be on hand to welcome the attendees. Zac B. Sarian has been invited to serve as moderator during the kickoff event.

FLORIKULTURA 2012 SPEAKERS

2012-01-09T15:13:00.002+08:00

THE 2012 Florikultura Filipina International Expo will be held on February 24 to March 6 at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City. This is a major project of the Philippine Orchid Society for the year.

One of the highlights is the holding of a 2-day Congress which will be held on February 24 to 25 at the Bureau of Soils and Water Management on Visayas Avenue, Quezon City near the venue of the Florikulture exhibit.

On the first day, Dr. Setapong Lokawatana will discuss the Ornamental Plant Industry Development in Thailand. This will be followed by P. Mukundan who will talk on the Ornamental Plant Industry Development in Inda. He is a horticulturist and nurseryman.The third speaker will be Gregori Hambali, plant breeder and botanist from Bogor, who will talk on the Ornamental Plant Industry Development in Indonesia.

The challenges and opportunities in the Philippine Floriculture Industry will be discussed by Kazunari Kitamura who operates the Uni-Green Nursery in Batangas. This will be followed by Dr. Jocelyn Eusebio of PCAARRD who will talk on the Philippine Floriculture Industry and Available Packages of Technologies. She will be followed by Anders Lindstrom, curator of Botanical Resources of Nong Nooch Garden Resort in Thailand who will talk on Philippine Plants with Export Potentials.

The last speaker on Feb. 24 will be Tata Montilla, a Filipino based in Hawaii. He will talk on Marketing Through the Internet.

On February 25, the second of the Congress, will open with a talk on Current Trends in Orchids and the Future of Philippine Species by Dr. Teresita D. Amore of the University of Hawaii. She will be followed by the speaker from Singapore, J.B. Tay, who will talk on Orchid Breeding Trends in Singapore. The speaker from Malaysia, Wong Kiam Ho, will speak next on Orchid Flower Production and Marketing.

The 4th speaker will be Prof. Nestor C. Altoveros of the Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB) Crop Science Cluster, UPLB. He will talk on Mass Propagation and Re-establishment in Natural Habitat for Conservation and Sustainable Trade of Endangered Philippine Orchids. He will be followed by Dr. Almando Palijon of the UPLB College of Forestry and Natural Resources. He will talk on Propagation and Utilization of Philippine Native Species for Landscaping and Urban Greening.

Rene Dofitas, a breeder of bromeliads from Bacolod City, will talk on Developments in Bromeliad Breeding. His talk will be followed by a talk on Fern Propagation and Breeding by Barbara Joe Hoshizaki of the Los Angeles International Fern Society. The last speaker will be Dr. Vivencio Mamaril who will talk on the Imp;ortance of Plant Variety Registration. He is the executive assistant at the National Seed Industry Council.

Fruitful Pepper in Recycled Coke Bottles

2012-01-07T17:44:00.002+08:00

Dr. Eduardo Paningbatan Jr. before Agri-Kapihan
attendees. Note the very fruitful pepper grown in
thre coke bottles.

DR. EDUARDO PANINGBATAN JR. talked about his technology which enables him to grow vegetables and other crops in recycled coke bottles. This was at the Agri-Kapihan on January 7, 2012 at the AANI weekend market at St. Vincent Seminary on Tandang Sora, Quezon City.

Note the very fruitful finger pepper planted in three halved coke bottles. A recently retired soils scientist from UP Los Banos, he has developed a special growing medium that contains the necessary nutrients for proper plant growth. He has also formulated a liquid plant food that sustains the plants throughout their growing and fruiting stages.

The Agri-Kapihan is held every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 noon at St. Vincent. However, this coming Saturday, June 14, the attendees will motor to the Harbest Training Farm in Carmen, Rosales, Pangasinan to attend lectures on the use of Effective Microorganisms (EM) in agriculture and aquaculture, and demonstrations on the use of small hand tractor for land preparation as well as a powerful shredder for shredding composting materials. The attendees will also visit a demo farm where 400 varieties of Known-You seeds are being field tested.(Zac B. Sarian photo)

Organically Grown Cauliflower

2012-01-07T17:03:00.001+08:00

ROMULO AYAG (left) is a successful organic vegetable grower in Brgy. Pili, Sariaya, Quezon. He is shown here with Randy Avila of Allied Botanical Corporation showing the cauliflower heads from Ayag's farm during the Agri-Tourism Expo in Lucena City recently.

He plants cauliflower and other vegetables in a 300-square meter home lot. He staggers his production so that he produces only what could be sold in two organic "tiangges" in Sariaya and Lucena City every Friday. Cauliflower is his best money-maker which he sells at P120 to P130 per kilo.

Ayag is featured in the January 2012 issue of Agriculture Magazine, written by Tony Rodriguez.

BLACK BAMBOO AT TERESA

2012-01-07T15:29:00.001+08:00

IN PHOTO is the "Mother Clump" of the Black Bamboo at the Teresa Orchard & Nursery in Teresa, Rizal. It produces a lot of new culms every year. The mature culms are useful in the farm. They could be used in supporting fruiting bananas, for making stakes or trellis for tall or vine vegetables.

The culms are without any spines and the mature ones could be made into furniture. Just like what Mariano "Ning" de Vera did with his Black Bamboo in his hobby farm in Pansol, Calamba, Laguna.

The Black Bamboo is also planted in containers and used as decorative plant in some homes and establishments.

Propagations are available at the Teresa Orchard & Nursery at P250 each. In some other sources, the price could be much higher.

Thai Mango With Superior Taste

2012-01-07T15:06:00.001+08:00

THESE are the bluish fruits of the mango whose Thai name translates to "Many Babies." The fruits are sweet to eat as green mango with very nice flavor.

The elongated fruits weigh about 250 grams or 4 pieces to a kilo. When ripe, it is also nice to eat. It is juicy and sweet.

Grafted planting materials are now available at the Teresa Orchard & Nursery in Teresa, Rizal at P350 each. Interested fruit lovers are invited to visit Teresa Orchard & Nursery. It is along the national road, about 30 meters before the big arch at the boundary of Teresa and Morong town. Teresa is the town next to Antipolo City. Call or text 0926-745-0401 for more information.

10 Reasons Why People Get Into Farming

2012-01-07T05:58:00.000+08:00

(We are reprinting below, a chapter of our book that is already out of print. We think, the reasons are still relevant. The book, How to Start and Manage Your Own Dream Farm was reprinted a couple of times but is no longer available.)

WHY DO YOU WANT TO FARM?

SOME people become farmers by choice. Others by accident or by force of circumstance.

Doctors, lawyers, accountants, teachers, pilots, business executives, entrepreneurs, advertising people, media men. Many of them, including women, are farmers at heart.

Each has his or her own special reason for wanting to farm. And these may include:

1. AS A SOURCE OF INCOME - Farming could be the main source of income or just a sideline. Properly run, a farm could provide a very decent livelihood. It could provide the money for your children's education or your dream trip around the world.

2. AS AN INVESTMENT - A farm is a very good investment, especially if it is situated in the right place. Farm prices rarely go down.

In 1987, a farm owner in Dasmarinas, Cavite, offered us his land at P14 per square meter or P140,000 per hectare. Just only six years later, the same land, even without any improvement, was selling for P250 per hectare. That's an increase of P2.36 million!

Sometimes, though, a farm is not as liquid as other investments. You may not be able to sell it when you want to.

3. AS A HOBBY - A farm could break the monotony of a job in the city. It brings one back to Nature
and provides the necessary exercise often needed by city-bound professionals. A farm is a place to bring the family during weekends.

4. AS A FALL-BACK POSITION - Executives as well as rank and file employees dread the day they could be fired from their jobs for one reason or another. Having a farm could cushion the impact of such a possibility.

One production manager of a chocolate factory started raising chickens in 1985. At that time the manufacturing business was so uncertain. That's why he bought a farm and put up a poultry project. His having a farm had beenmost reassuring to him.

5. SELF-FULFILLMENT - Some people feel good if they think they are helping feed the nation. Just like Ciony Octaviano of Zarraga, Iloilo, a management consultant who became a full-time rice farmer in 1988. She loves to tell that farming has made her life more meaningful and is very proud of it.

6. FORCED INTO IT - Sometimes circumstances force people into farming. For example, parents pass away or become too old to do the farming so they turn over their farms to their children. And then the heirs discover that farming is rewarding after all, not just in terms of money.

7. TO EVADE A VICE OR BAD HABIT - We know of at least one fellow who got tired of gambling and womanizing. He found peace and quiet in a farm. Farming gave him back his sanity.

8. TO CREATE A SHOWPIECE TO BRAG ABOUT - One retiree takes special pride in showing his model one-hectare farm to friends and other farm enthusiasts. It has been good for his ego and his health.

9. AS OUTLET FOR ONE'S FRUSTATIONS - One engineer contractor we know suddenly found himself without a road to build nor a building to construct in the mid-70s. Business was down, so he went back to his hometown in Nueva Ecija. Out of frustration, he bought a 20-hectare hilly land so he could do some farming. He planted mango trees not for anything else but to keep him occupied. Last year, his trees yielded at least a million pesos worth of fruits. And that's how he discovered farming couldS be a money maker, too.

10. TO KEEP UP WITH THE JONESES - Sometimes we go into farming because our friends or neighbors are into it. We don't want to be left behind. If possible, we should have a better farm than people around us.

You might go into farming for just one or all of the reasons above. Or for some other reasons you alone know.

She Planted Mahogany 10 Meters Apart

2012-01-07T05:12:00.001+08:00

MANY people plant their mahogany trees two meters apart, but a lady we know in Capiz planted her trees 10 meters apart.

She had a good reason to do that. She wanted to have a long-term crop as well as short-term crop in the same farmland. She planted pineapples between the mahogany trees so that in a couple of years she would be having some income while waiting for the mahogany trees to mature, maybe in 20 years.

She planted pineapple for her own good reasons. Aside from giving her income in the short term, the pineapple could prevent fire during summer. The plants could also suppress the weeds.

On Renting the Right Farm

2012-01-07T04:38:00.000+08:00

We remember a Japanese we interviewed some years back. He was growing okra for export to Japan, renting one hectare in a 40-hectare subdivision in Tarlac. The subdivision was fully fenced and there were only a few houses then.

The Japanese made a wise choice if you ask us. The subdivision had a guard at the entrance, so the place was very secure. The water system was available and so was the electricity. As a long time friend of the owner, the Japanese was able to rent the area for peanuts.

Maybe, you should look for a similar place to rent for your own brand of farming.

On Renting a Farm

2012-01-07T04:02:00.001+08:00

We remember an enterprising fellow who loved raising swine and poultry whom we interviewed years ago. He would rather rent a farm rather than putting up one of his own. He looked for abandoned farms that he could rent. At that time he was renting two farms in Rizal province.

There was wisdom in what he did. Renting an existing piggery did not entail the construction of expensive houses. All he did was to renovate some of the structures. The water system was already there and so were the other facilities. Therefore, he would be able to operate and produce virtually immediately without spending a very big amount on the physical facilities.

Europe Buying More Organic Produce

2012-01-06T18:01:00.001+08:00

It used to be that in Europe, the demand for organic farm produce was 15 to 30 percent of all exports of agricultural produce from Israel. Today, the demand has doubled, according to Eyal Sahar, manager of the Gilad Desert Produce Packing House in the Ein Yahav settlement in the Arava desert in Southern Israel. The reason? Germany and the Scandinavian countries want more and more organically produced fruits and vegetables.

The Packing House processes 60 to 70 tons of vegetables a day, 90 percent of which is for export.

EVER BLOOMING BEGONIA

2012-01-05T12:49:00.000+08:00

THIS is a propagation from a begonia that was gifted to us one year ago. Since then the mother plant has never stopped flowering. That's also true with the few propagations we have.It is something worth multiplying.

Propagating ornamental plants can be a good sideline if you love flowers and foliage plants. It is something that can be undertaken as a sideline. We know of a medical doctor who is now practicing in the US. When he was studying at UP, he used to grow a lot of Crypthantus (a bromeliad called earth stars). He sold his propagations to other plant lovers.

If you are employed, choose a plant that does not require daily attention like bromeliads, sansevierias and many others. If you don't have a big space, choose small plants. Most cacti, for instance, don't require big growing space.

Philippine Aglaonema Sells for P960

2012-01-05T12:17:00.002+08:00

THE Israeli lady in a plant shop in Tel Aviv is showing a native Philippine aglaonema with big leaves. It comes from the Davao area in Mindanao.

Do you know how much is the price of this plant with a single stem? It's the equivalent of P960 in Philippine money.

The Philippines is the home of the most number of native aglaonemas in the world. Locally, it is popularly known as Lasuerte. It is a very hardy plant for indoor use.(Zac B. Sarian photo)

FRUIT TREES IN ELEVATED BED

2012-01-05T12:06:00.001+08:00

THIS is a photo of young fruit trees taken from inside a bus while traveling in Southern Israel. You will notice that the young fruit trees are planted on narrow elevated beds.
We asked the reason why. The reason given is that when the plants are grown that way, the roots receive much more oxygen than when they are planted on the level of the soil surface.
We have noticed that the practice is widespread.

POINTED SWEET PEPPER

2012-01-05T11:57:00.002+08:00

THERE'S a pointed sweet pepper that they are growing in greenhouses at the Arava desert in southern Israel. This is a tall variety that produces a lot of fruits, five of them usually weighing a kilo.

According to Ronnen Schlachet who is managing a 29-hectare sweet pepper farm, 30,000 plants are grown per hectare. Each plant yields 3 kilos so that one hectare yields abut 90 tons.

The greenhouse costs 400,000 Euros to build per hectare but it could last for many years. After each cropping, the greenhouse is dismantled and the soil is cultivated with tractor. After plowing and harrowing, the soil is covered with plastic for 45 days. That's the new way of sterilizing the soil. It's called solarization which does not use any chemical. The heat of the sun kills the harmful microbes.

Photo shows Supanee Na Songkhla, a Thai journalist, posing with fruitful pointed sweet pepper in the farm of Mr. Schlachet. (Zac B. Sarian photo)

40 Mahogany Trees Paid For His Dream Trip To Europe

2012-01-04T23:39:00.002+08:00

OUR friend Jimmy Araneta of Bacolod told this story at the Agri-Kapihan in 1993. His cousin had planted 40 mahogany trees in a portion of his farm in 1972 when Martial Law was declared. Exactly 20 years later in 1992, somebody offered to buy the 40 trees for P150,000. That was a big amount at that time. The buyer would do the cutting and hauling. Jimmy's relative would just receive the money. The relative was so happy, he immediately used the money to buy a round trip ticket for his dream European tour.

That kept some attendees thinking and calculating. Suppose he had planted 1,000 trees? Those would have been worth P3,750,000 at the price Jimmy's cousin was paid for his 40 trees!

Relay Cropping For Additional Income

2012-01-04T23:18:00.001+08:00

One farmer we know in Ilocos Norte has a way of increasing his income from his garlic farm by planting other crops before the garlic is harvested. That's called relay cropping. In the Ilocos, garlic is planted after harvesting rice. The field is mulched with rice straw. At 55 days after planting his garlic, he intercrops tobacco seedlings. He usually irrigates his field before planting the tobacco seedlings 75 centimeters apart. The first harvest of tobacco leaves would come 15 days after harvesting the garlic. As many as eight harvests could be made from the intercropped tobacco.

Another crop that he also intercrops with his garlic is mungo. He irrigates his garlic plants when they are 85 days old and then plants the mungo seeds by dibbling. He usually harvests 250 kilos of mungo seeds per hectare in just two months from planting. At P40 per kilo, that's another P10,000 gross income.

Retiree to Put Up Farming Showcase

2012-01-04T15:26:00.001+08:00

Ralph Diaz with fruiting Vietnam pummelo in a container
at the Teresa Orchard & Nursery in Teresa, Rizal.

RALPH DIAZ, a UP Los Banos agriculture graduate and who worked for 30 years with the United Nations involved with social development and planning, is starting a farm project in Morong, Bataan. He has bought a 1.3-hectare property where he will grow high-value fruit trees and vegetables as a showcase that farmers can learn from.

For a start, he has recently bought 100 planting materials of two Vietnam pummelo varieties, 30 latexless jackfruit, several Longkong lanzones and Monthong durian. He will practice natural farming that is sustainable which he would like to impart to the local farmers.

In his home in Quezon City, he has a roofdeck garden where he grows leafy vegetables with the use of Dr. Ed Paningbatan's technology.

PEACH MANGO FROM AUSTRALIA

2012-01-03T14:01:00.003+08:00

THIS is the fruit of the Peach Mango, alias R2E2, the hybrid mango from Australia. The fruit is big, 800 grams to more than one kilo.
The flesh is firm and fine-textured, hence it is excellent for slicing into cubes and using the same in fruit salad.
It is nice to eat the half-ripe fruit as well as the fully ripe one. It is sweet with a nice flavor. There's no turpentine taste or what most people call "medicine" taste.
Grafted planting materials are now available, P350 each, at the Teresa Orchard & Nursery in Teresa, Rizal. When in season, the fruits are sold at P110 per kilo at the Tiendesitas in Pasig City.

Beautiful Face, Beautiful Strawberries

2012-01-03T13:33:00.002+08:00

The strawberries are as beautiful and delicate as the model because these are grown above the ground inside a greenhouse somewhere in the Arava desert in Southern Israel.
The plants are grown in containers that are seated on a gutter-like structure. The strawberry plants are fertigated, i.e., watered and fertilized by means of the drip system pioneered by the Israelis.
The model is Ms. Ximena Ramirez Ayala, a reporter of La Republica newspaper in Cali, Colombia. She was one of the journalists from different countries, including the Philippines, invited for the press tour in Tel Aviv (Dec.4-7) in connection with the forthcoming International Agricultural Exhibition (Agritech) which will be held on May 15-17 in Tel Aviv.(Photo by Zac B. Sarian)

Discipline Is Very Important

2012-01-03T11:47:00.006+08:00

SEVERAL years back, we interviewed the wife of a high-ranking official at UP Los Banos who systematically multiplied 10 medium anthurium plants worth P350 into several thousand plants worth P350,000 at the time of our interview.

The husband must have observed that his wife was bored. So he gave her P350 to buy some plants that she could grow in the garden. She bought 10 medium-size Kaumana anthurium from a scientist who was growing ornamentals as a sideline.

Let's just call her Naty who had a strategy. She would keep on propagating the anthuriums until the spacious garden at the back of their house was filled. She would not sell any of her propagations for as long as there was still space in the backyard. All that she sold were the flowers. If she needed money to buy pots or fertilizers, she would just get some from her money for marketing.

She had disciplined herself in such a way that she was able to multiply her anthuriums into several thousands very fast. Some of her friends also bought some anthuriums at the same time she bought hers. But they were not able to multiply their plants like Naty because they immediately sold whatever propagation they had. Naty's self-discipline made the difference.

A Goldmine Is Just Around the Corner

2012-01-03T11:27:00.005+08:00

A LADY who was recently widowed planned to get into the ornamental plant business. She asked us how best to start without a big amount of capital. While they lived in Manila, they had a vacation farm in Quezon.

We were invited to their farm and we noticed several full grown Hamsiao trees planted by her late husband who was a Chinese. Hamsiao is a small tree that produces sweet-smelling flowers and is in demand by many Chinese customers. I knew that because I had a plant shop at the Manila Seedling Bank and invariably we would be asked where to buy Hamsiao.

I told the widow, she could start her plant business without spending for new plants. I suggested that she marcot the branches of the trees that were more than a dozen. Easily she could produce 200 marcots from the trees. In a couple of months after marcotting, the marcots could be severed from the mother trees. A couple of months more, they could be ready for selling.

Small but well established plants sold at that time for P250. We suggested that she start selling as they are established. We also suggested that she grow some of them into full grown specimen plants which landscapers would be willing to pay a few thousand pesos for one plant.

We also suggested that she join a garden club so she will get to know other plant lovers and plant shop owners who could buy her propagations.

VARIEGATED MAKOPA FROM THAILAND

2012-01-02T17:20:00.002+08:00

THIS is a Makopa variety from Thailand that is not yet well known in the Philippines. It has yellow variegated leaves that make it stand out even if it is not in fruit.
The fruits come in clusters that are bell-shaped. The light pinkish fruits are fleshy, crisp and sweet.
The imported Makopa varieties are fleshy and nice to eat. Propagations of this little known imported Makopa are available in limited number at the Teresa Orchard & Nursery in Teresa. Rizal.

Golden Buho Is Very Useful

2012-01-02T17:07:00.002+08:00

THE Golden Buho is very useful to have on the farm. Its spineless culm can be excellent for using as trellis materials for climbing vegetables such as stringbeans (sitao), cucumber, patola and others. Stakes for tomatoes could be made out of the culms.
It also makes a very good landscaping material. Mrs. Elenita Binay, wife of the Vice President, has landscaped her garden around the lagoon of their farm in Rosario, Batangas with several Golden Buho.
The Golden Buho clump in photo is at the Teresa Orchard & Nursery. Now and then, the mature culms are harvested for various uses on the farm.
Propagations are now available at the Teresa Orchard & Nursery in Teresa, Rizal. Well established plants more than three feet tall are available at P250 each.
Teresa Orchard & Nursery is along the road, about 30 meters before the Teresa-Morong boundary. Teresa is the town next to Antipolo City.

Engineer Is a Gentleman Farmer

2012-01-02T15:59:00.001+08:00

MANY professionals enjoy farming. One of them is Froy Legata, a mechanical engineer who has a thriving hydraulic business in the city. He is very much in love with farming. Several years ago, he bought a farm in Paniqui, Tarlac which he planted to mango and other exotic fruit trees.
In this photo, he is showing the fruits of his Golden Queen mango which he originally obtained from the Teresa Orchard & Nursery. The Golden Queen produces big fruits, sometimes 1.5 kilos each. It is very nice to eat as green mango and as ripe fruit. It is not sour when green and is very sweet when ripe.
His latest acquisitions from Teresa are Vietnam pummelo, Super avocado and others.
By the way, he has acquired another farm which he is currently developing.

Rootcrop Called "Mountain Medicine"

2012-01-02T15:20:00.001+08:00

THERE are many things you can discover if you go to the wholesale market of agricultural produce in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. One of them is a rootcrop whose Taiwanese name translates into "Mountain Medicine." It is very white and very straight. It can be boiled by itself or included in various dishes together with vegetables. Just like what could be done with gabi roots in the Philippines.
It is called "Mountain Medicine" because it is claimed to make one strong and virile.
How do they make the tuber so straight and undamaged? We were told it is produced inside a mold of PVC pipe.
Photo was taken by Julius Barcelona. I am showing one of the tubers in the retail section of the market.

Only Bangus Served Here

2012-01-02T14:45:00.001+08:00

THAT'S me, Zac B. Sarian, inside a restaurant in Tainan, Taiwan where only bangus is served, prepared in many ways. There is a soupy dish quite different from we prepare our "sinigang". There are fillets garnished with herbs. There's even a preparation of bangus intestines which is not bad to eat.
The dishes are quite cheap. One meal with two dishes plus rice costs less than NT$100. A 5-dish meal may cost only NT$145. One US$ = NT$28.
The place is well patronized. Maybe, a similar restaurant in the Philippines could attract a lot of customers.

Honeydew Melon Right for the Philippines

2012-01-02T14:25:00.001+08:00

THIS is Jade Lady, the Honeydew melon that is highly adapted to the tropical climate of the Philippines. It is early maturing. It is ready for harvest in just 38 to 45 days after flowering.
Fruits which weigh 1.5 to 2.5 kilos are sweet with a high sugar content of 15-18 percent. This variety has stable quality even in hot season when there is minimal temperature difference between day and night.
This photo was taken by Zac B. Sarian on December 19, 2011 during the anniversary of Known-You Seed Company in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Seeds are distributed in the Philippines by Harbest Agribusiness (tel. 671-7411 to 14).

INDIA'S HOTTEST HOT PEPPER

2012-01-02T13:56:00.004+08:00

THESE curious-looking fruits are said to be the hottest hot pepper species from India. These were displayed during the 43rd anniversary of Known-You Seed Company in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Known-You has a big collection of pepper germplasm which it uses in creating hybrids that are targeted for some special markets.

4 Agri Books By Zac B. Sarian

2012-01-02T12:32:00.003+08:00

Below are the 4 available Agri Books by Zac B. Sarian:

1. SEKRETO NG MGA SUCCESSFUL AGRI-PEOPLE: P150 per copy + P75 for mailing.

2. WINNING STRATEGIES IN AGRICULTURE: P225 per copy + P75 for mailing.

3. UPDATES ON AGRI-PEOPLE & THEIR MONEY-mAKING IDEAS: P275 per copy + P75 for mailing.

4. FISHERIES IDEAS THAT WORK: P225 per copy + P75 for mailing.

Text 0926-745-0401 for particulars on how to pay for your order. Give your complete name and address. Your order could be mailed or shipped by courier. Rate of shipping depends on how far the recipient is from Manila.

AGRI COLUMN IN ILOCANO MAGAZINE

2012-01-02T04:01:00.003+08:00

YOU can read Zac B. Sarian's weekly agriculture column in Bannawag, the Ilocano magazine published by the Manila Bulletin. His articles also appear in the Bisaya and Hiligaynon magazines, also published by the Manila Bulletin.

KICKOFF PRESS CON FOR HORTI ASIA 2012

2012-01-01T23:00:00.005+08:00

We have been invited to act as host/moderator for the Kickoff Press Conference of Horticulture Asia (HortiAsia 2012) on Feb. 10, 2012 starting at 10 a.m. at the Sulo Riviera Hotel in Quezon City. HortiAsia 2012 will be held at the BITEC exhibition halls in Bangkok, Thailand on May 9 to 11, 2012.

HortiAsia 2012 is managed by N.C.C. Exhibition Organizer Co. About 250 companies will be showcasing their products and services. These include commercial producers of orchids and ornamentals, plant breeders, tissue-culture companies, suppliers of inputs such as fertilizers, crop protection items, equipment traders and manufacturers, and many others.

Those interested in horticulture are invited to attend the press conference on February 10 with yours truly acting as moderator.--ZAC B. SARIAN

REMINDERS: Coming Events

2012-01-01T20:14:00.006+08:00

Here are reminders on events that are coming up shortly:

1. HORTICULTURE 2012. January 26 to February 6. Venue: Quezon Memorial Circle, Quezon City. Under the auspices of the Philippine Horticultural Society.

2. INTERNATIONAL FLORA FILIPINA EXPO. Feb. 24 to March 5, 2012. Venue: Quezon Memorial Circle, Quezon City. Under the auspices of the Philippine Orchid Society. Hightlight: 2-day Conference on Orchids & other horticultural developments. Venue of Conference: Bureau of Soils and Water Management, Visayas Avenue, Quezon City.

3. 5TH NATIONAL GOAT AND SHEEP CONGRESS. March 22-24. Venue: Clark, Pampanga. Under the auspices of the Federation of Goat and Sheep Producers Associations of the Philippines headed by Ben Rara. Highlight: Showcase of upgraded small ruminants. Competition of island-born goats and sheep. No entries of imported animals.

Special Horticulture Meeting

2012-01-01T19:00:00.003+08:00

Dr. Romeo Gutierrez, president of the Philippine Horticultural Society Inc. announced that there will be a special membership meeting of the club on Thursday, January 5, at the Elevated Garden (former Planas Garden) at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City.

Details of the forthcoming Horticulture 2012, the annual garden show of the PHSI will be discussed. The said garden show will be held also at the Quezon Memorial Circle on January 26 to February 6.

Horticulture 2012 is one of the country's major garden shows. Commercial growers as well as hobbyists make up the membership of the society. There will be a competition in the landscape booths which will be participated in by individuals as well as by groups or other garden clubs.

There will also be a commercial section where the gardening public can buy their gardening needs such as plants, fertilizers, pest control materials, reading materials and others.

Daily lectures will also be held during the show. Zac Sarian has been invited to give a lecture on what's new in exotic fruit trees and how to culture them in containers as well as in the field.

Dr. Gutierrez is inviting to the meeting on Thursday those who would like to get a commercial booth so they will know the details on rentals as well as other aspects of participating in the commercial section.

Join the AANI Farm Tour

2012-01-01T18:59:00.002+08:00

AANI is organizing a farm tour on Saturday, January 14, that will bring participants to the Harbest Training Farm in Rosales, Pangasinan. The attendees will attend a techno forum cum demonstration on the use of EM in agriculture and aquaculture. There will be demo on the use of small tractor in preparing land for planting vegetables. There will also be a demo of a powerful shredder which could be used in shredding materials for composting.

Another highlight of the affair in Rosales will be the launching of the Agri-Kapihan in Pangasinan. This blogger, Zac B. Sarian, will talk on successful farmers both here and abroad.

The participants will also visit the field-testing of some 400 varieties of vegetables and other high-value crops at the experimental field of Known-You Philippines, a sister firm of Harbest Agribusiness. For reservation, contact Pol Rubia at 0917-847-5071.

Cows Built His Dream House

2012-01-01T04:40:00.005+08:00

Cornelio, the fellow featured immediately below, had another great idea. When he had his rice mills and he had plenty of rice bran, he thought of raising cattle. He added molasses to the rice bran that he fed to his cattle. Just like what he did with his pigs that enabled him to buy his first rice mill, he plowed back to his cattle project whatever income he made from this cattle project.

He raised both purebred as well as native breeds. Whenever a cow gives birth and it is a male, he would sell the same and then use the proceeds to buy a pregnant cow. That's how he was able to increase his herd systematically. After eight years, he had already 250 animals, some of them purebred that sold for as much as P35,000. These are purebred Brahmans which were sold as breeders. Of course, he also had native breeds that fetched P10,000.

Cornelio already had a modest house but he thought of building his dream house someday. That's why he thought of raising cattle so that someday he would have enough money to build his dream house without borrowing from the bank.

When he decided to build his dream house, he sold 150 big animals out of the 250 that he had. The sale which amounted to a few million pesos was used to build Cornelio's dream house. It was a mansion bigger than most big houses that some OFWs are building these days. If you ask us, that was another bright idea that Cornelio had.

2 Pigs Enabled Him to Buy a Rice Mill

2011-12-31T21:13:00.002+08:00

His name is Cornelio from Bulacan. We interviewed him many years back but we can't forget his story. He finished only 6th grade but he is a smart businessman. He used to be a helper in a vegetable stall in Divisoria. Then at age 22, he decided to become a vegetable trader, bringing vegetables he bought from his townmates to the Balintawak market. There's money in vegetable trading but the schedule was so hectic, he did not have much time to rest. So after a few years, after he had saved quite a big sum, he decided to just do some farming in his hometown.

One special project he started was hog raising, starting with two female pigs for breeding. He had a big plan. Since he had enough money to sustain his family with his savings and from his farming of rice and vegetables, he decided to save whatever income he made from his pig project. He fattened the male piglets while the females were retained for breeding.

The fattened males were sold and whatever income he received was plowed back to the project, to buy feeds and to buy more breeders.

After eight years, he already had 500 big animals. In practically one swing, he sold his 500 animals. At that time, the price per mature pig was P3,000. The 500 pigs enabled him to have on hand P1,500,000 which was a big amount at that time.

With the big amount, he bought his first rice mill. At the time of our interview, he had already bought another big rice mill and was the biggest rice miller in Bulacan. He could mill 2,000 cavans a day.

And to think that his rice mills were the fruit of the original two pigs he started to raise eight years before we interviewed him. It's a clever way of raising a big amount, if you ask us.

TRY THIS WITH PANDAN MABANGO

2011-12-31T20:27:00.003+08:00

TAKE a handful of freshly cut leaves of aromatic pandan (pandan mabango), tie it into a small bundle and put the same inside your air-conditioned car. You will love the fragrant aroma that will linger for a few days.
Usually, a few leaves are placed in the rice being cooked to have fragrant cooked rice.

Clustering Evergreen Avocado

2011-12-30T15:43:00.001+08:00

THIS is the Clustering Evergreen Avocado from the farm of Capt. Bong Reamon in General Santos City.

This is a remarkable variety in a number of ways. Its fruits come in big clusters. When we visited Bong's farm, we counted 14 fruits in one big cluster. The fruits are not so big - 3 to 4 fruits make a kilo.

Aside from this unusual clustering habit, the fruits have a mealy consistency that is very nice to the taste. One can eat the flesh without any garnishing or addition of milk and sugar.

Another curious observation of Bong is that the tree bears fruit later in the season than most other varieties. Thus, when the other varieties have all been harvested, then it is its turn to be harvested. Which could make it some kind of an off-season avocado.

Teresa Orchard & Nursery is now starting to multiply this by grafting. We have a few mother plants which we are waiting to bear fruit.

WHITE EGGPLANTS

2011-12-30T13:52:00.000+08:00

THESE are two white eggplant accessions in the germplasm collection of Known-You Seed Company in Taiwan. The white eggplant is said to have very good shelf life and transport quality.

The upper photo shows bigger round fruits while the one below shows much smaller fruits. There are other sizes. One has long fruits while another white has fruits that are as small as cherry tomatoes.

These white eggplants were showcased during the 43rd anniversary celebration of the seed firm, highlighted by the inauguration of its modern headquarters in Kaohsiung. These are being used by breeders of the company to create new outstanding hybrids.

CANISTEL FROM FLORIDA

2011-12-30T13:15:00.000+08:00

THIS is the fruit of the Tiessa (a.k.a Canistel) from Florida. The fruit is shorter than the commonly grown variety in the Philippines. The difference is that the flesh is more moist than the locally grown variety. The planting material was acquired from the late Eulogio Mallari of Bataan who introduced into the Philippines several exotic fruit varieties from Florida, USA.

The main complaint about the old variety is that the flesh is too dry.

Our plant which is grown in a container has a dozen fruits right now.

GREEN MAKOPA FROM BANGKOK

2011-12-30T12:58:00.002+08:00

THE granddaughters of Max Ballesteros show off the fruit of the green makopa they harvested from their grandfather's tree.

The fleshy fruit is sweet and juicy. It is crisp, especially when placed in the chiller of the refrigerator. Max, who lives in Quezon City, obtained the planting material from the Teresa Orchard & Nursery in Teresa, Rizal. Marcotted planting materials that will bear fruit in a couple of years are available in Teresa at P250 each.

Special Horticulture Society Meeting

2011-12-30T12:45:00.001+08:00

THERE will be a special membership meeting of the Philippine Horticultural Society, Inc. on Thursday, January 4, at 2 o'clock at the Elevated Garden (formerly Planas Garden) at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City. This was announced by Dr. Romeo Gutierrez, PHSI president.

The members will discuss the details of the forthcoming Horticulture 2012, the annual garden show of the society which will be held on January 26 to February 6, also at the Quezon Memorial Circle.

Those who are interested to have commercial booths are invited to attend so they will know the details about the rentals of the same.

HOW TO CHECK IF IT IS LONGKONG

2011-12-30T12:35:00.001+08:00

Longkong is the lanzones variety from Thailand which is sometimes seedless or with just one or two small seeds. It is latexless and is sweet and juicy. The grafted Longkong looks very much like the native lanzones variety.

So, how do you know if what you are buying is longkong and not the ordinary lanzones? It's easy. Just get a portion of the plant's leaf and chew it. If it is bitter, it is the native variety. The longkong leaf does not taste bitter at all. The same is true with the leaf of the Duku lanzones. It is not also bitter.

MINI MAKOPA IN A CONTAINER

2011-12-30T12:10:00.000+08:00

IN PHOTO is a Mini Makopa heavily laden with clusters of seedless fruits that are crisp and juicy. It is grown in a rubberized container.

The fruits can be eaten as fresh fruit. It could be made into a fruit shake together with other fruits such as mango, banana or avocado. It could also be used in fruit salads.

Marcotted planting materials available at the Teresa Orchard & Nursery in Teresa, Rizal will bear fruit in just one year. It can be grown in the ground or in a container. The price is P250 each.

You can visit Teresa Orchard & Nursery. It is along the road, about 30 meters before the arch at the boundary of Teresa and Morong, Rizal. Teresa is the town next to Antipolo. Other Makopa varieties are also available. Call or text 0926-745-0401 or Rose at 0915-434-4216.

Purebred Brahman Investment Package

2011-12-29T15:34:00.002+08:00

KING CARLOS AND HIS PUREBRED BRAHMANS

King Ranch of Batangas managed by King Carlos, has come up with an investment package for OFWs as well as for retirees who would like to go into breeding purebred Brahman cattle.

Three budget-friendly packages are offered, payable in two years with down payment of only 25%.

Package I - This costs P280,000 with down payment of P70,00 and P8,750 monthly installment. It includes one male and 3 females.

Package II - This costs P420,000, DP P105,000, and P13,125 monthly installment. This includes 1 male and 5 females.

Package III - This costs P770,000, down payment of P192,500 and P24,062 monthly installment. This includes 1 male and 10 females.

Along with the investment package, King Ranch will provide basic information (i.e. suppliers of vaccines, medicines and equipment) as well as free training and consultation that the investor needs.The investor will choose what initials should be branded on the cattle he chooses. The brand will serve as the cattle's ID for the investor's reference.

King Ranch will take care of the animals until they are two years old. King Ranch will take care of feeding, maintenance, medication and vaccines. After 2 years of age, feed charges will apply for every succeeding day in case the investor intends to prolong the stay of his stock in the premises of King Ranch.

Brahman cattle is the right breed to invest in. It is a docile animal that grows fast with weight of 750 to 850 kilos at maturity compared to 250 to 300 kilos of the native breed.

For more info, contact King Carlos at 0917-572-6707 or email him at ark.carlos@yahoo.com.

DWARF ZINNIAS

2011-12-29T13:34:00.000+08:00

THESE dwarf Zinnias and Vincas (at the back) are real attention-getters. They are so short-statured with large flower heads. They are suitable for planting in garden beds. They could also be grown in pots or containers as in photo.

One can make good business by growing them in pots for sale. These could be sold in garden shows, bazaars, weekend markets, trade expos, and in plant shops.

One could grow them as a sideline while one is employed. The East-West Seed Company is distributing these varieties. The Zinnias and Vincas come in different attractive colors.

Vietnam Pummelo in a Plastic Bag

2011-12-29T13:17:00.001+08:00

THIS is a mature planting material of Vietnam pummelo (Nam Roi) at the Teresa Orchard & Nursery in Teresa, Rizal. When grown in a large rubberized container, it can nurture several fruits to maturity. When grown in the ground and given enough balanced fertilizer, it will produce full-sized fruits that are two kilos each, sweet and juicy.

The trick in growing a good crop of pummelo is to plant in open sun. Trees should be provided with adequate fertilizer and should be watered during the dry months.

Stressing the plant for a couple of weeks (no watering) will induce flowering. If the plant is still small as in photo, you have to thin most of the fruits. You may just retain one or two fruits so as not to stress the plant. Some will recommend removing all the fruits, but you can do your own experiment.

Visitors who have tasted the fruit of the Vietnam pummelo usually buy some planting materials. Some have bought a few hundred planting materials for commercial planting. Others just buy a few for their hobby farm or for their backyard. Some buy a few to serve as their mother plants or source of scions for grafting.

Visit Teresa Orchard & Nursery in Teresa, Rizal. It is along the road, just about 30 meters before the arch of the Teresa-Morong boundary. If there's a mature fruit, we will surely let you taste it.--ZBS

5-Month-Old Pomegranate in a Container

2011-12-29T12:37:00.000+08:00

IN PHOTO (taken Dec. 29/11) is a pomegranate seedling that was planted in a rubberized container on July 15, 2011 when it was an 8-inch seedling. It is growing very fast because it is properly taken care of.

The potting medium is a mixture of garden soil, Durabloom organic fertilizer and rice hull. This easily drains. It is also fertilized once a month with Peters balanced soluble fertilizer. We have also sprayed it once a month with foliar fertilizer mixed with a drop of Superthrive per gallon of water.

We are quite certain we will be able to make it fruit in the container. It's just a matter of caring for the plant, giving it balanced fertilization.

We intend to plant more in containers. We will compare the performance of the Bhagwa variety from India and the Wonderful variety from Israel.

The joy in farming is doing your own experiments. Discovering a technique that works is very fulfilling. Don't be afraid of failure. That can also teach you useful lessons. Just don't repeat your mistakes often.-Zac B. Sarian

Farmville Adventure at Costales Nature Farms

2011-12-28T13:39:00.003+08:00

These holidays you might want to experience the real farmville adventure offered by Costales Nature Farms in Majayjay, Laguna. It is owned by Ronald G. Costales, 2011 Gawad Saka Awardee as the Most Outstanding Organic Farmer in Region IV-A.

Mr. Costales runs an organic farm where you can order pre-arranged dining of organic products from his farm. It offers fishing, swimming and also has a spa. There's also accommodation for overnight stay. Ideal for farm tours and family outing.

He also offers seminar on Integrated Natural Farming and EM Technology workshop. The venue is Costales Nature Farms Training Center, Brgy. Gagalot, Majayjay, Laguna. Call or text 0917-544-2023 for more information.

Try Growing Potted Pepper for Money

2011-12-28T13:25:00.001+08:00

HERE'S an idea you can do as a sideline. Why not grow peppers in containers? If you can produce potted peppers like the ones in photo which I am inspecting, we are sure these could be sold in the weekend markets, agri-trade show like Agrilink, at the Agri-Kapihan, garden shows and other occasions.

Maybe, you can grow the hybrid varieties that are really prolific like the ones from East-West Seed, Known-You (Harbest Agribusiness), Allied Botanical, Ramgo and other companies.

We know of buyers paying P250 to P300 for heavily fruiting vegetables (not only different pepper cultivars but also different cultivars of eggplant). Make it a project for the next Agrilink. If you can produce for the show 300 potted fruitful plants, that could gross you some Christmas money. For weekend markets, you can produce and sell say 20 pieces per week. Or you can produce a hundred for gift-giving during the Christmas season. Sell them to people who would like to give a unique Xmas gift to their special friends.
This is one idea that is particularly doable in the urban or peri-urban Manila area. The market for such plants is in Metro Manila. But you can also try it out there in the province.

VIRUS-RESISTANT MUSTARD

2011-12-28T13:04:00.002+08:00

Dr. San-Tai Wang (left) of the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) in Pingtung, Taiwan, is showing Arsenio "Toto" Barcelona a new mustard cultivar that is resistant to virus. This variety grows into a big plant which can be grown direct in plots as well as in pots or containers. Dr. Wang has other researches going on at TARI. One of them is the testing of different kangkong cultivars under saline conditions. Dr. Wang has also developed a white ampalaya that does not have to be wrapped in order to produce white fruits. Barcelona owns Harbest Agribusiness and is the distributor of Known-You seeds, small tractors and other Taiwan products in the Philippines.

BLACK HOT PEPPER

2011-12-28T12:56:00.003+08:00

Here's something new you would like to know. A black hot pepper! This is one of the various sweet and hot peppers that are under trial at the research farm of Known-You Seed in Tainan, Taiwan.

This black pepper is said to be one of the hottest in the collection of Taiwan's biggest seed company. Known-You is well known for breeding many outstanding vegetables and other high-value crops like tomatoes, eggplant, cucumber, watermelon, melon, okra, squash, ampalaya, sweet corn and more (Zac B. Sarian photo, 12/21/11)

Eat, Pick & Pay Strawberry Farm

2011-12-27T18:57:00.001+08:00

There's an interesting strawberry farm in Yong Kang, Tainan, Taiwan where you can pick, eat and pay for what you harvest and bring out. This is the Ta An Strawberry Farm which means Great Peace in English. It is open every Saturday and Sunday. The visitor pays an entrance fee of NT$150 or the equivalent of about P235. He is given a basket that may contain one kilo of fruits which he has to pick himself. While picking, he can eat all he cares to eat which he does not have to pay. When he has filled the basket, he can bring out what he harvested and pay for it at about the equivalent of P235 per kilo. There is also a place at the entrance of the farm where visitors can also eat their harvest. The farm is run by a lady. The strawberry plants are grown in styropor boxes that are neatly perched on steel pipes on three levels. The plants are drip irrigated and fertilized (fertigated).Every few years the potting medium is changed and replanted. A similar project could be set up in La Trinidad for tourists and local residents.

A similar set up planted to organic vegetables could also be a possibility. (Zac B. Sarian photo)

Indian Black Paper on Mahogany Tree

2011-12-27T18:41:00.000+08:00

Here's one practical idea you can do if you have mahogany trees in your farm. Plant 4 rooted cuttings at the base of each tree, supplying them with a mixture of garden soil and organic fertilizer like Durabloom or vermicompost. Plant the Indian variety called Paniyur which produces long fruiting spikes. In a couple of years your plants may start bearing fruit.

One fellow who has done that is Dr. Rene Sumaoang who has a farm in Sta. Ignacia, Tarlac. He obtained his planting materials from Teresa Orchard & Nursery in Teresa, Rizal about 3 years ago and some started fruiting even only one year after planting the rooted vines.

Ready-to-plant rooted cuttings are available at Teresa Orchard & Nursery at P100 per 3 pieces. Call or text 0926-745-0401 for more information.

TAIWAN CHERRY TOMATO FARMER

2011-12-26T19:58:00.001+08:00

This is Huang Guo Tsun, 42, a cherry tomato farmer in Neimen district in Kaohsiung City. Last Sept. 10, he planted 1,760 cherry tomato seedlings on a 2,500-square meter property which he rented for NT$10,000 a month. Starting 90 days after planting, he has been harvesting his ripe fruits every day. Five pickers harvest anywhere between 60 to 180 kilos daily.

That's big money. Sixty kilos at present sell for NT$7,000 which is about P11,000 in Philippine money. If they harvest 180 kilos, that's the equivalent of P33,000. That's for one day!

Of course, labor in Taiwan is expensive. The pickers are paid NT$800 a day or P1,257 in Philippine money. Still, the margin is substantial. Huang could harvest for at least 60 days. If the crop season is good, harvesting could last for as long as six months, according to him.

Huang plants the Nova and Amber varieties which are about the sweetest of the Known-You hybrids. Huang has been planting cherry tomatoes for the last eight years now. Before that, he planted cucumber, kangkong and other leafy vegetables. He says cherry tomatoes are the most profitable as far as he is concerned.

What's good is that technicians of Known-You are very helpful in making him succeed. He has been taught how to maintain the sweetness of his cherry tomatoes. When he feels that the the fruits are not sweet enough, he applies more phosphorus and potassium. He also withholds irrigation for a few days to make the fruits sweeter.

CHERRY TOMATO: Money-Making Possibilities

2011-12-26T19:34:00.001+08:00

That's me, Zac B. Sarian, posing with the very fruitful cherry tomatoes at the Pingtung Experiment Station of Known-You Seed in Taiwan.We visited the farm during the inauguration of the new headquarters of Known-You in Kaohsiung.
There are many cherry tomato hybrids bred by Known-You and are money makers for farmers not only in Taiwan but also in the United States and other developed countries. Santa, a superior hybrid bred by Known-You, is grown exclusively by an American firm.
The varieties come in red, pink, yellow and orange.
The fruits weigh only 15 to 18 grams each, but the plants are very prolific. The fruits can be used in salads and are also eaten as snack food. As fresh fruit, it is very nice to eat. It's juicy and sweet.
In the Philippines, Rolly Vinusa of Sison, Pangasinan is one of the few who are growing this miniature tomato. He is growing the Amber and Rojita varieties. Toto Barcelona who distributes Known-You Seeds tells us that Vinusa is excited because one buyer would like to order from him 800 kilos of cherry tomatoes every week. He currently sells his harvest ex-farm at P80 per kilo. When retailed, the price is P110 to P140 per kilo. In Taiwan, the current ex-farm price is equivalent to P157 per kilo.

VARIEGATED CHICO FROM TERESA

2011-12-26T19:16:00.002+08:00

THIS is a grafted Variegated Chico from the Teresa Orchard & Nursery in Teresa, Rizal. It is both a decorative and an economic plant.

It is decorative because of its multi-colored leaves of green, white and yellow. It can be grown in a container as a decorative ornamental plant. Even when grown in a container it will produce a lot of fruits, hence it is doubly attractive.

Of course, it can be grown in the ground and can grow into a normal tree. With adequate fertilization, both organic and and chemical, it will produce a lot of fruits that are very sweet.

You can visit Teresa Orchard & Nursery. It is open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. You will also be able to see other exotic fruit trees like imported varieties of mango from Thailand, Taiwan, Australia and Florida. There are superior pomelo varieties from Thailand, Vietnam and from the Philippines (Magallanes). There are also five varieties of imported Makopa that are fleshy and crisp.

Teresa Orchard & Nursery is along the highway, Km 36.6, about 30 meters before the Teresa-Morong boundary if one is coming from Antipolo City. Teresa is the next town to Antipolo. Call or text 0926-745-0401.

THE KNOWN-YOU FOUNDER

2011-12-26T15:56:00.000+08:00

Photo shows the venerable Wun-Yu Chen who started a small seed business in the late 1960s that grew and grew to become the biggest seed company in Taiwan - the Known-You Seed Co.based in Kaohsiung.

Last December 19, Known-You observed its 43rd anniversary with the inauguration of its new headquarters that was built with NT$300 million. Mr. Chen spearheaded the breeding of hybrid watermelon and other high-value vegetables in Taiwan. These hybrid seeds have benefited millions of farmers not only in Taiwan but also around the world, including the United States, Japan, Europe and of course other Asian countries like the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka and others. Mr. Chen is shown here in this photo with his favorite crop during a previous watermelon festival in Taiwan. At 86 years old, he still goes to his office although much of the administrative tasks are now in the hands of his son Lung-Mu Chen, Known-You president.