#ishareknowledge

Felicidad Orchard and Garden Organics, located in Barangay Katangawan, General Santos City, is the first farm tourism site in Region 12 accredited by the Department of Tourism. Recently upgraded as School for Practical Agriculture by the Agricultural Training Institute, this farm is owned by Capt. James "Bong" Reamon a former pilot and multi-awarded Filipino inventor including The National Science and Technology 1995  “Inventor of the Year” who also pioneered vermiculture in Mindanao. 

Vermiculture is the raising and production of worms. Vermiculture provides compost for farming, gardening and landscaping, as well as providing worms for bait.

This organic farm features a wide variety of plants and trees - among these are 16 kinds of bananas, fruit trees, organic rice, vegetables and herbs. The farm also promotes edible landscaping.

They also raise animals like pigs, ducks, chickens, etc. Have you heard of vegipig? A vegitarian pig? Here in Felicidad Orchard and Garden Organics, pigs are fed with azolla, duck weed and salvinia mixed with darak (rice bran).

Some of the inventions of Capt. James Reamon including a windmill and the award-winning Rex Compost Tea Brewer are also showcased here.

Compost tea is a water extract from compost that is brewed while extracting the beneficial organisms. The bacteria and fungi are given a chance to increase in number and activity. The Rex Compost Tea Brewer produces compost tea of superior quality since it is designed to extract the hormones, the nutrients and the beneficial microbes present in the compost material for brewing, while at the same time, multiplying these microbes’ population during the brewing process. Bacteria may increase by 100 to 500 times as a result of the brewing process, and fungi may increase 5 to 10 times. The product is manufactured with the use of mass produced materials processed with utmost consideration on durability and efficiency to produce high quality compost tea that is economically within reach of many users. The Rex Compost Tea Brewer has won several awards including:1st Prize for Creative Research during the 2005 National Inventors’ Week; 2nd Prize for the Invention Category during the 2009 National Invention Contests & Exhibits and Philippines' Representative to Taipei Technology Fair 2010.

His other five inventions that also won awards were:

AERODYNAMICALLY DESIGNED GIZELLE WINDMILL

* Invention of the Year-National Inventors' Week-1984 Presidential Gold Medal Award-World Intellectual Property Organization Gold Medal Award

REX MULTI TASK VEHICLE

* 2nd place-Creative Research-National Inventors' Week 2008

JIMBO VENTILATION SYSTEM

* Best in Enginering Design-National Inventors' Week 1989

* 24th Salon des Invention-Geneva Switzerland 1996

* Silver Gilt Medal-Building & Furnishing Category

* 2nd place-Ecology Contest

AERODYNAMIC TELESCOPIC SAIL

* 2nd place-Creative Research-Nat'l Inventors' Week 2000

JIMBO VENT 1

* 3rd place-Creative Research-Nat'l Inventors' Week 1985

For inquiries, call Felicidad Orchard and Garden Organics at 0917-2790823 or email at [email protected] or visit their website at www.felicidadorchard.com.

Contrary to what others believe in that you can't become rich in farming, Mr. Gerardo Cordero, a retired agricultural extension worker said otherwise---there’s money in farming. "Turuan ko kayo magkaroon ng isang milyon" he tells the participants of the "10th Bloggers' Event: Exploring Organic Agriculture Practices and Farm Tourism Activities in SOCCSKSARGEN" held from June 17 to 20, 2019 as they visited his farm, the second of three farms in the itinerary. 

Gernil's Farm in Koronadal City, South Cotabato. coined from the names of the owners, spouses Gerardo and Nilda Cordero, is an accredited School for Practical Agriculture (SPA) of the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) in Region 12. This 5-hectare integrated farm is growing organically-grown cacao, coconut, banana, mangosteen, guyabano, and lanzones. Mr. Cordero is an advocate of organic farming because it is more economical and he believes in chemical-free production. He even shared some formulas alternative to pesticides, herbicides and insecticides---from using powdered soap, salt, to using even manure and urine of goats.  

His implementation of farm diversification techniques not common to other coconut farms made Mr. Gerardo bag the Regional Outstanding Coconut Farmer award in the 2017 Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office XII’s Regional Gawad Saka. He created his own several farming techniques like the prutasan–palay–isda–hayupan, palay–prutasan–hayupan, and the palay–gulayan concepts. His “palay-isdaan” system of combining palay and tilapia resulted to greater production and income in his farm. He also conceptualized a 3-level cage to maximize land use. Housing ducks on the first level, sheep on the second and goats on the third. The cage was designed also in a way that manure from the upper levels goes directly to a composting box.

Mr. Cordero strongly believes in the importance of attending seminars or learning activities for farmers to improve and to have the technical capability to process their own produce. He said farmers can earn more by adding value to their products through processing. Selling processed products makes higher income that selling it in raw state. Genril's Farm products include coco syrup, coco sugar, cocoa, tablea and its very own unique delicious juice called “katangsi”, a combination of extracts from talbos ng kamote, tanglad, and kalamansi. The farm also sells medicinal plants and herbs like mangosteen in capsules.

Gernil's Farm also created jobs for the locals. In fact, his coconut sappers are paid around P26,000 per month, higher than what a minimum wage earners get here in Metro Manila. So who says there's no money in farming?

For inquiries, call Gernil's Farm at 0906-8061659 or email at [email protected].

The Department of Agriculture (DA) continues to support sustainability in Filipino farms through initiatives in line with the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010. Constant promotion in various media forms is undertaken to highlight the organic agriculture (OA) practices of Filipino farmers. This is to increase farm productivity; ensure health and welfare of farmers, consumers, and the general public; minimize destruction of the environment; and promote healthy use of soil, water, and air. Many farmers and farm owners now adopt organic and natural farming practices including those supported by the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI): the accredited Learning Sites (LS), Extension Services Providers (ESP), Schools for Practical Agriculture (SPA), and Farm Tourism Sites (FTS). These practices are also showcased by local farmers in their tourism activities as supported by the Farm Tourism Development Act of 2016

To promote and raise public awareness on these practices, the "10th Bloggers' Event: Exploring Organic Agriculture Practices and Farm Tourism Activities in SOCCSKSARGEN" was held from June 17 to 20, 2019. The event was comprised of tours in three (3) different farms supported by the ATI either as LS, ESP, SPA, or FTS in the region.

Located on the Summer Capital of South Cotabato, Lake Sebu, is the first stop, Sebul Farm. It is not only a farm but also a learning site of the Agricultural Training Institute 12 that yields an rich array of organic crops, flocks, and fish.

One of the best practices in this farm is how they manage the water system and supply. William Sy, the farmowner, mentioned that his farm is watered by a Hydraulic Ram Pump that he personally installed with a Youtube tutorial as guide. “Nakuha ko lang ang idea sa Google, tapos ginaya ko na”, he said.

Used by ancient farmers, this system pumps water without using electricity nor gasoline, just gravity and water flowing from a higher point to a lower point.

Sebul Farm process their produce into packaged organic products like herbal tea bags, chili and salt powder, loose leaf tea, coffee grounds and pure honey, among others. With that, they add value to the produce and sell higher in the market, and most importantly, they give jobs to the T'boli locals.  

Sebul Farm is owned by spouses William and Mayette Sy, a retired businessman and flight attendant, respectively.

For inquiries, call Sebul Farm at (0915) 517-2697 or (0908) 928-4380. Also, like Sebul Farm & Organic Products on Facebook.