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nina Maria Beatrice Cantero at Laura Mae Tenefrancia Bilang bahagi ng proyektong “Libreng Paaralan para sa mga Dumagat (LiPaD), ng mga Dumagat, para sa lahat” ay sisimulan ng Sierreza, isang zero-waste store at artisan café. na matatagpuan sa Los Baños, ang pagtitinda … Continue reading
by Nykyle Patricia Buenviaje, Renz Louie Celeridad, and Victorena Diesta
The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, in partnership with the Region IV-A Agricultural Training Institute, held the first Laguna Organic Agriculture Congress at the Cultural Center of Sta. Cruz on October 28-30.
The organic agriculture congress, themed “Sa Organiko Panalo Tayo, Kaya’t Lagunenyo para sa iyo ito,” was open to all offices, departments, organizations, and individuals who were interested in organic agriculture — a “natural” way of growing crops, vegetables, and other agricultural products.
According to Lydia Estrada, the Laguna assistant provincial agriculturist, organic agriculture aims to create a farming system that will grow various chemical-free crops. The promotion of organic agriculture, such as holding the congress, is in line with Republic Act (RA) No. 10068 or the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010, which mandates the state to “promote, propagate, develop further, and implement the practice of organic agriculture in the Philippines.”
The organic agriculture congress also aimed to help address gender awareness issues, recognizing the need to change the traditional belief that farming is only for men and to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor through technology transfer.
Los Baños GAD Office staff help farmer cooperators sell their produce during the three-day organic agriculture congress. (Photo courtesy of the GAD Office)
Laguna cities and municipalities took part in the provincial congress on organic agriculture. The local government unit (LGU) of Los Baños was represented by the Gender and Development (GAD) Office, the implementing agency for the organic agriculture component of the gender-sensitive livelihood project between the LGU Los Baños and the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD).
From the PhP 4.6 million project “Enhancing Gender-Sensitive Sustainable Agriculture and Aquatic Science and Technology (S&T)-based Livelihood Enterprises in Los Baños”, PhP 2.2 million was allotted for organic agriculture projects.
The implementation of the organic agriculture component started in March and covered five barangays, namely: Bagong Silang, Timugan, Maahas, Tuntungin-Putho, and Lalakay. According to Karen Lagat-Mercado, head of the Los Baños GAD Office, their unit started the project implementation by conducting seminars about organic agriculture in the five barangays in partnership with PCAARRD. These seminars were followed by trainings for the farmer cooperators.
According to Mercado, the organic agriculture project not only provided additional source of income for the cooperators, it also helped the women – especially the housewives – develop greater confidence, build their self-esteem, and become more independent. With their own earnings, the women now depend less on their husbands’ income.
Through the congress, Los Baños was able to showcase organic produce from the farmer-cooperator and present the LGU Los Baños-PCAARRD collaboration to representatives of various cities and municipalities in Laguna.
For more updates on the LGU Los Baños-PCAARRD project, visit the Gender Sensitive Organic Vegetable Prod’n for Low-income Communities of LB Facebook CommunityPage.
ni Ma. Emily P. Alforja, KASAMA President
Nag-organisa ng pagsasanay sa vermiculture ang local na pamahalaan ng Los Baños na isinagawa ng Gender and Development Office at ng Department of Agriculture para sa mga miyembro ng Kapisanan ng mga Samahan ng Malinta (KASAMA) noong October 18 sa Brgy. Malinta.
Sa pamamagitan ng pagsasanay sa vermiculture, natutunan ng mga kalahok na napakadaling mag-alaga ng bulate gayundin ang paggawa ng vermicast o organikong pataba. Maliit lamang ang kailangang puhunan at hindi nangangailangan ng mahabang oras o panahon para sa pag-aalaga.
Ang pagsasanay ay bahagi ng proyektong vermiculture kung saan tinuturuan ang mga kalahok sa tamang pag-aalaga ng mga bulateng African night crawlers at pag-ani ng vermicast na nagsisilbing organikong pataba.
Natutunan ng mga miyembro ng KASAMA ang pagpapabulok ng tira-tirang pagkain, iba’t-ibang klaseng gulay, tuyong dahon, suha ng saging, at dumi ng baka o kalabaw bilang bahagi ng proseso ng paggawa ng vermicompost.
Ang vermicompost ay ginagamit bilang organikong pataba para sa mga pananim ng mga miyembro ng KASAMA at maaari ding mapagkuhanan ng karagdagang kita.
ni Ricarda Villar
Namahagi ng mga binhi ng pipino, sitaw, at kalabasa sa kanilang barangay covered court ang Brgy. Putho-Tuntungin sa mga miyembro ng Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) noong ika-13 ng Setyembre.
Pinangunahan ni Kapitan Ronaldo Oñate at Konsehal Rhodora Lagman ang pamamahagi ng binhi ng gulay sa mga miyembro ng 4Ps sa kanilang baranga y. Isang linggo matapos ang pamamahagi ng binhi, bibisitahin ng barangay ang mga kabahayan upang masigurong patuloy na nakikibahagi sa proyekto ang mga miyembro ng 4Ps.
Ang pamamahagi ng binhi ng gulay ay panimula ng proyektong vegetable container gardening na pinangungunahan ni Kapitan Ronaldo Oñate at Konsehal Rhodora Lagman ng komite ng agrikultura ng Brgy. Putho-Tuntungin.
Ang mga binhing ipinamahagi ay mula sa PAMANA Center at sa Institute of Plant Breeding ng UP Los Baños. Paliwanag ni Konsehal Lagman, ang pamamahagi ng binhi or seed dispersal ay matagal at regular nang isinasagawa ng Brgy. Putho-Tuntungin upang matulungan ang mga residenteng magkaroon ng karagdagang mapagkukuhanan ng pagkain.
Ani Kapitan Oñate, ang proyektong vegetable container gardening ay nabuo matapos maobserbahan na walang mapagkuhanan ng supply ng gulay ang mga residente matapos masira ng Bagyong Glenda ang mga taniman ng gulay sa bahay-bahay. Sa vegetable container gardening, maitatago pansamantala ang mga pananim upang hindi ito maapektuhan ng sama ng panahon at maaring mailabas muli pagkalipas ng bagyo. Maliban dito, makakatulong ang vegetable container gardening na magkaroon ng regular na mapagkukunan ng pagkain ang kanilang mga kabarangay. Kasali sa proyekto ang lahat ng miyembro ng 4Ps sa Brgy. Putho-Tuntungin.
Para sa mga nais makipagtulungan sa proyektong vegetable container gardening sa pamamagitan ng pagbibigay ng mga binhi o mga plastik na botelya o lalagyan (1, 1.5, at 2 litro), maaaring makipag-ugnayan sa Tanggapan ng Brgy. Putho-Tuntungin sa numerong (049) 536-4546.
by Kristina Aloida N. Tolentino
The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) showcased different innovations that aim to solve environmental, agricultural and food sustenance problems in the country during the 2014 Syensaya fair at the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB) Copeland gymnasium. On the second day of the exhibit at the PCAARRD booth, the featured products were research development focused on rice production, coconut trade and processing, and tilapia breeding.
The highlight of the exhibit was the aquarium filled with Red Nile Tilapia.
Aquarium filled with high breed Red Nile Tilapia developed by PCAARD (photo by KA Tolentino)
Willie Ibarra, science research specialist at PCAARD, said that the showcase aims to attract and inform people about the emerging market for Red Nile tilapia, a high-quality tilapia known for its appealing red color, which is attributed to the Mossambique tilapia crossbred with the Nile tilapia for faster growth.
This breed of tilapia was originally imported from Singapore in 1978 and has been improved locally to introduce a different variant aside from the commonly available gray, cheap, and fingerling tilapia.
According to Ibarra, PCAARD is trying to revive the market for this “Class A” breed of tilapia to have a cheaper alternative to the high-priced marine species. The market hampered due to the mass market of the common grey Nile tilapia.
The institution partnered with the National Tilapia Research and Development Program for funding and also with the Central Luzon State University-Freshwater Aquaculture Center (CLSU-FAC) to lead and improve on research.
by Jabez Flores
Don’t let your degree define what you have to do in life. Defying all odds and going against conventional wisdom, traditional learning, and standard collegiate expectations; Timi James Manching “transplanted” his introverted computer science skills to the liberating fields of the organic farm – where the birds sing joyfully and the smell of sweet basil becomes one with the wind.
I met Timi in 2011 during the height of Cafe Antonio Sessions. At that time, we were both involved in this tight-knit community of indie musicians based in Los Banos. He was playing violin and singing back-up vocals for the band, Pathway.
A BS Computer Science student at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, 23-year-old Timi revealed to me his interest in organic agriculture while I was enrolled in the first offering of the Organic Agriculture course at the UP Open University. Prior to that conversation, I had no idea that he was interested in growing vegetables and living a sustainable and simple life.
At times we would sit in my porch, have lemongrass tea and talk about his dreams of becoming an urban gardener. In response, I would share my learnings from organic agriculture and permaculture. His eagerness to learn gave me hope for the younger generation. I could sense that he would be a good example to his peers in the campus.
“It’s about systems thinking. That’s what attracted me to farming, specifically permaculture design. Because that’s what we study in computer science, it’s all about systems,” Timi told me while we were making seedling flats out of used pallets and listening to music at Kainos Farm.
At present, Timi actively participates in farming chores with Tara Farms in Bay on Tuesdays; a couple of organic gardens in Los Baños on Wednesdays; and in Kainos Farm on Thursdays and Fridays. He also joined me last June for a Bamboo Training Workshop conducted by Cabiokid Foundation in Laur, Nueva Ecija together with our friends from Transition Community Initiative Philippines and Good Food Community. After that, our group of Nu Wave Farmers, also called The Mulching Matsing, was invited for the Luntiang Lunes segment of Oras na Pilipinas at 702 DZAS.
“Though I’m delayed [in college], at least I discovered during my long stay here what I really want to do with my life. When I graduate, I will work in the farm.”
Now that’s a dream worth pursuing!
#NuWaveFarmers
Jabez Flores is an organic farmer and permaculture designer for Kainos Farm in Calamba, Laguna. He maintains his own garden in Los Baños called Daang Kalabaw Community Garden. He finished BA Sociology at UP Los Baños in 2007; Certificate in Organic Agriculture at UPOU in 2012; Basic Permaculture Design at Cabiokid Foundation, Nueva Ecija in 2014; and is currently taking up his masters degree in Environment and Natural Resources Management specializing in Upland Resources Management at UPOU. He also teaches Personal Entrepreneurial Development at UPOU. To know more about what Jabez, visit his blog and The Mulching Matsing Facebook Page.
