Barira, Margues in Shariff Kabunsuan welcome TCP 4

Around 20 residents of Lipa, Barira in Shariff Kabunsuan participated in the focus group discussion and project briefing of TCP 4.

From the FGD it was found that most residents have been using chemical sprays in managing rice pests in their farm since time immemorial. Albert Usman, provincial coordinator of the project said that in the Farmers’ Field School (FFS) they will be taught of new technologies where they could minimize use of chemical sprays in managing pests like black bug.

Same observations were found in Margues. Residents use Buswak (local pesticide) because it is cheap and effective. They spray whenever they see black bug or other pests in their farm. As compared to other sites, Margues will have their rice FFS this second season. Usually rice goes in first than vegetable.

Datu Blah Diocolano, farmer cooperator in Margues said that they are very happy that Manny Pasawilan, one of the farmer-participants had good harvest by following the technologies taught in their FFS. Manny earned PhP 10,000 in his April harvest.

New sites validated in Basilan, Sulu

Four new sites were validated in Basilan and Sulu for the implementation of the Palayamanan under the JICA Technical Cooperation Project (TCP) 4 this year.

Focus group discussions (FGD) on the new sites were likewise conducted led by Rebecca Patalen, training coordinator of the Project for ARMM. FGD results will be used in designing the participatory techno demonstration protocol in the respective sites. Patalen said that nutrient management is crucial in the two island provinces. Rice bug, on the other hand, remains to be persistent in said areas.

Jun Ammak, provincial coordinator in Sulu said that farmer-cooperator graduates of the project in Sulu showed promising results. Among them are Muammil and Jaiton Jawali who are now selling their produce to the market.

Meanwhile, Romulo Ng and Pepito Sanchez, farmer-cooperator graduates in Basilan earned over PhP40,000 in their April harvest. The two applied the concepts that they learned in the Farmers’ Field School in planting their vegetables like bottle gourd, ampalaya, tomato, cucmber, pechay, and many others.

Former MNLF commander turned Palayamanan cooperator

“You can’t shake hands with a clenched fist,” said Indira Gandhi. Datu Blah M. Diocolano, 64, a.k.a Kumander Tigre, formerly a Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) commander, has opened his and shook hands with the government when he surrendered in 1992.

Datu Blah entered the MNLF group in 1970. “Noon hindi ka makapaghanapbuhay, tago ka ng tago,” he recalled. In addition, Datu Blah got shot in his leg that’s why he’s having difficulty walking now.

In 2006, Datu Blah accepted the challenge to be the Palayamanan cooperator in the Technical Cooperation Project (TCP) 4 by JICA, PhilRice, and DAF-ARMM in Margues, Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao. Now that the project has ended, Datu Blah proudly showed the accomplishments of the project in their site. He said that most of the participants gave their full support to the project eventhough it meant walking long distances just to get to the Farmers’ Field School (FFS) site. Furthermore, when they were already doing the FFS, many still wanted to join. They were asking “San kayo nag-apply para makasali diyan?,” said Datu Blah. This was confirmed by Datu Ali Naway Sumlay, agricultural promotions officer in the area saying that the group had always been enthusiastic and had 90-100% attendance during FFS.

There had been a lot of changes in Margues because of TCP 4. Before most of them cut trees and sold them to the market as firewood. The job, of course, was not enough to cover their daily expenses. When TCP 4 came, they learned how to plant vegetables as eggplant, tomatoes, okra, and many others. Datu Blah said this has made the difference in their lives as most houses started to do backyard gardening. Everybody became interested in planting vegetables since then!

“Yung mga tuyong dahon ilagay sa halaman (mulching), paggapas ng damo” said Datu Blah are the most adopted technologies. Other technologies that they learned include trellising, proper distance in planting, and fertilizer application. Before, Sumlay said farmers used a handful of fertilizer per hill which is very costly. Now, fertilizer application is reduced to one tablespoon per hill. They also learned how to use punching stick in fertilizer application. All of the participants, he added, have planted and applied the lessons from the FFS. In fact, Datu Blah bragged that Manny Pasawilan, one of the participants, has managed to harvest 34 sacks of upo (as of this writing) which he sells in Cotabato City Public Market at PhP 250.00/sack. Other farmers intend to follow this achievement while some are happy that they have enough for their own consumption.

Moreover, Datu Blah said that activities like this help promote peace. “Kung may tinatanim ka, meron ka ng pera. Pag meron ka ng pera, di ka na makaisip na gumawa ng kung anu-ano,” he explained. Datu Blah believes that poverty is the root cause of the insurgency problem. Thus, access to farming information will enable them to cope with poverty as they will have something to eat plus the opportunity to market their produce later on.

As an MNLF returnee, Datu Blah was a recipient of the government amnesty program. During his time, there were 12 of them who surrendered. They formed themselves into a cooperative since it’s a requisite before they could avail of the program. They then received P300, 000.00 which they used to buy a hand tractor. But then, what they thought would be something that would bring a twist to their lives eventually failed. The hand tractor was sold. Hence, the cooperative failed.

Datu Blah said he finds TCP 4 to be a sustainable initiative as it equipped them with the technical know-how so they could do it on their own once the project is over. In the former assistance, “basta binigay lang yung pera, walang technical support,” Datu Blah said. Margues residents said that the agricultural technicians and facilitators of the TCP 4 taught them many things which is the main reason why many got enticed to plant vegetables, something not true before TCP 4 came.

PhilRice and JICA have always emphasized that there should be project ownership in all their undertakings. Margues participants have been spreading what they have learned to other interested residents. After the vegetable farming, the group will undergo training on new techniques in lowland rice farming.

Meanwhile, Datu Blah said “Alagaan namin tong project na ito dahil malaki talaga ang maitulong nito sa amin.”

Palayamanan participant reaps bountiful harvest

Around 50 sacks of vegetables in six consecutive harvests at four to six days interval sold at PhP200.00 each sack? Not bad!

Manny Pasawilan, 36, a Palayamanan participant in Margues, Maguindanao shows smiles of tranquility as he looks at his bountiful harvest.

“Nung una naming pagharvest, 14 sacks, hanggang dun!” said Elizabeth, Manny’s wife stretching her arms and pointing her lips forward to emphasize how bountiful their harvest was.

On their sixth harvest (as of this writing), i.e. the sixth with 4-6 days interval or about one month after the first harvest, Manny estimates to get 7-8 sacks of bottle gourd and squash. All of their harvests are sold to a businessman living in Margues who has a stall at the Cotabato City Supermarket. Datu Odin Sinsuat Public Market is another potential place for their products.

From the PhP 200 buying price per sack, he gets a net income of PhP170 i.e., minus all deductions like transportation, merienda of those who help in harvests, etc. Elizabeth shared that they actually produce more than what they can sell in the market. It’s just that before they could sell it in bulk, their neighbors buy in menudo or in retail. Plus, many just ask for vegetables for free.

“E dito naman, parang araw-araw Pasko. Kaya pag may humingi e di bigyan,” says Elizabeth.

Moreover, most of the residents surrounding their mini farm are their relatives so it’s hard to say no. The good thing thou according to Elizabeth is that many want to emulate them after seeing their wonderful harvest. “Parang nagising ang mga tao dito ng nakita nila ang harvest namin,” she said.

In addition, Manny explained that the livelihood of people in their area can improve if they would have access to the technical knowledge like what FFS participants had. Added to this is the fact that Mindanao has very rich soil. Elizabeth attests to this saying, “yung buto ng okra tinapun-tapon ko lang, nalaman ko na lang tumutubo na sila.”

Manny and Elizabeth are sharing the pieces of information that they got from FFS. In fact, there are vegetables which they do not harvest to serve as source of seeds later on. They have already marked those vegetables with pink plastics for easy reference.

“Dahil marami ng humihingi, marami kaming pinatanda (vegetables that are not harvested so it could serve as source of seeds) para ipamigay sa kanila,” said Elizabeth.

According to the couple there is no secret to achieving good yield. What they did were the usual things expected of a farmer. Industry, they said, is very important. For one, Manny and Elizabeth walk 1.5 km every day to go to their mini-farm. Every day they check on their vegetables to remove the weeds and worms. Furthermore, the couple believes that all these could not have been possible without Technical Cooperation Project 4, a collaborative project of JICA, PhilRice, and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries-ARMM. They said that before they were also planting vegetables but their yield now is just so magnificent that others have expressed their want to copy them. Proper fertilizer application and distance in planting are two of their most imbibed technologies.

Elizabeth said that there have been a lot of changes in their life since TCP 4 came. If before they were just depending on their small sari-sari store, now they have an additional source of income. Their friends tease them saying, “ngayon meron na kayong exrang pera pangtaya sa lotto!”

Meanwhile, the couple expressed interest to support the second leg of Palyamanan in their area focused on lowland rice farming set to start this June.