STRAIGHT FROM THE BIG CITY

New breed of farmers
Ike ‘Ka Iking’ Señeres

The 3rd “Integrated Farming System” (IFS) seminar sponsored by SamaKabuhayan was jam packed with more than thirty participants, composed mostly of people who are planning to go into agri-business, using their own lands that are idle right now. From the very start, I always knew that our audience is not primarily composed of existing farmers, but of small businessmen who would like to go into the farming business.
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Due to popular demand, we had to schedule a 4th IFS seminar on Saturday, June 30, pre-empting the “Quail Raising” (pugo) seminar that was earlier scheduled on that day. All those who registered for the quail seminar will automatically be admitted into the IFS seminar. For the information of newcomers to this column, “Quail Raising” is one of the “specializations” of IFS, aside from the other “specializations” such as piggery, poultry, fishery and the growing of rice, corn, soybeans and mushrooms, among others.
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It appears that the main attraction of IFS is the knowledge it gives to farmers and agri-business owners for them to make their own feeds and fertilizers, a knowledge that enables them to save on the high costs of agricultural inputs. As a pleasant surprise, IFS also enables its new found adherents to save on pesticides, because the use of organic fertilizers somehow “awakens” the capability of crops to bring out their own toxins to combat pests, aside from increasing their natural resistance to these pests.
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Another pleasant surprise is our discovery that the use of “Atovi”, the feed supplement developed by Filipino Engineer Walther Alvarez not only helps in promoting the growth of layer quails, it also makes the quail eggs more pleasant to eat, by removing the odor that used to be its negative attribute. Another Filipino Engineer, Aldrich Alvarez (the son of Walther), has specialized in quail production, and has already designed affordable housing structures for these birds, now jokingly called “Pugominiums”.
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Based on feedback that we have gotten from the field, many crop farmers are now convinced that they should already add animal husbandry as an additional crop, so that they could have their own source of organic fertilizers from the “droppings” of these animals. Any animal would actually do, such as chickens, quails, ducks, pigs, goats, cows, horses or even our native buffalo (carabao).

This is actually makes our approach “integrated”, because the animals become the source of the crop fertilizers and the aquatic feeds. This is now possible because the “Atovi” enables the animals to fully digest the protein in their food, so much so that the droppings are not only odor free, these are also in effect “processed” as aquatic feeds.
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As an added feature of “Atovi”, it enables the animals to improve their immune systems, therefore also increasing the animal’s resistance to diseases. In the case of prawns for instance, the feed additive practically eliminates the virus that has affected prawn ponds before, a problem that has practically wiped out the prawn farming business in many parts of the country. Just like in the case of crop farming, the fish farmers in our country now have the added advantage of reducing their costs of medicines for their fish, another way for them to save and make more money.
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As a public service to our local government units (LGUs), we are now making the IFS method available to them, through a package of seminars that we will be offering nationwide. Right now our seminars are only held in Makati, and one way for us to bring this method to the provinces quickly is to work closely with these LGUs. We are willing to work with provincial, municipal and city governments everywhere, wherever we are welcome.
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In a related development, we have successfully tested the production of “Halal” chicken, and we are now in the process of offering this product to Moslem communities in Metro Manila, and to some hospitals around here. I understand that the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) has already expressed an interest to order, because it so happens that the management of PGH understands the value of “Halal” as a healthy food option as well.
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Aside from going through the LGUs, interested parties from the provinces could contact us directly and we would include them in our seminars, for as long as they could come here to attend. Whatever they would spend for their travel would surely be easy for them to recover, considering the savings that they could get from buying feeds, fertilizers, pesticides and medicines.
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Tune in to "Gulong ng Kabuhayan" on DZXL (558 KHZ) Mon to Fri 6 to 6:45 PM. Join the InterCharity Network. We assist you in starting a small business, in financing and in marketing. Email ike@kaiking.net or text us at 09196466323.Unit 324, Guadalupe Commercial Complex, EDSA, Makati.