Questions could be raised why I am writing regularly on the future of agriculture? How close have I been to agriculture so far?
- In the 1950s my grandfather insisted that I plant potatoes with him? Did I like it? No. Did I have a choice? No.
- Some three years ago, my friend Arnel Bacer and I debated why his family in Camarines Norte, with access to 14 hectares of land, was just able to survive. We came to the conclusion that we should start implementing fundamental changes in the approach to agri-development, using his family farm as an example. I will explain what happened since that debate below.
- I have just decided to get involved in “urban farming”—I will write about that in the next columns.
Back to Camarines Norte:
We bought 8,000 coffee trees from Nestlé and agreed in a supply agreement with Nestlé. The 8,000 trees were intercropped with coconut trees in the hilly area of the farm. We have just concluded year three and delivered the first small quantity of coffee to the Nestlé buying station. Result: we hit the top quality grade! In year five which is at the end of 2018, Bacer and family should be able to harvest 8,000 kilograms and will hopefully be paid around P800,000 at that time.
What else did Bacer do to change the income levels of the farm?
- He created two fishponds for tilapia and is raising fish now for sale in the neighborhood and the next wet-markets;
- They extended the rice area by 50 percent and are able to sell rice today;
- They expanded the vegetable area continuously and are now able to sell vegetables jointly with fish and rice;
- Coconuts are harvested and sold every three months;
- Bacer built a swimming pool, which is fed by the river and created housing; this resort-type development is already now attracting visitors who rent the area for entertainment or for country-side relaxation/holidays—against paying fees of course!
Are we done? Of course not; these changes that have happened during the last four years are inspiration to look at other things that can be done.
What have we learnt so far?
Ideas are good but without access to funding they will not fly.
Technical skills are needed and the continuous training of workers that are hired by Bacer is needed to move up the skills levels; here deeper cooperation is needed with the local government units and with Nestlé (extension work on a more regular basis).
It is absolute essential to think in agri-food supply chains; this means that the produce has to be transported to the potential customers/markets (we had no choice but to buy a secondhand truck in order to keep middlemen out); supply chains are also needed to reduce postharvest losses.
Are readers interested to learn from Arnel Bacer? Contact him at arnelbacer@yahoo.com.