Luntiang Buhay sa Mansalay

The rainy season has decorated this area of barangay Roma, Mansalay community a lively green, and multi-colored vegetables invite the minds of those who look into it.

But during the summer season, the landscape is dull brown, soils turned into hard clays and farmers in this area will struggle in tilling lands to plant crops.

This yearly occurrence of drastic swings between wet and dry seasons is felt across the southern part of Oriental Mindoro.  Exacerbated by climate change and weather phenomena of El Niño and La Niña, this paradise garden is either flooded with water or dried up as hell, thus a nightmare for small farmer capitalists in the area.

Bernabe “Ka Abe” Malicsi Jr., a beneficiary of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the current President of the Samahang Magpapatubig sa Mansalay, Incorporated (SMMI) has maintained a small vegetable garden for more than 30 years in just like the165 farmers in this rural area. Ka Abe said he barely survived with his vegetable harvests yearly and every year brings new challenges and hardships for his family.

 

“Dry season comes and water is really scarce here.  Basically, vegetables need water to survive. It is our common problem during a dry period.  But when rainy season comes, the rain pours heavily.  Our crops die after being soaked in excessive water.  “Sa totoo laang, hindi namin alam ang gagawin.”, said Ka Abe.

 

In 2017, a special partnership funded program of the DAR, the Climate Resilient Farm Productivity Support Project (CRFPSP) stepped in to provide technical assistance to farmer members of the SMMI through the introduction of agricultural climate-resilient production technology and to support ARB farmers like Ka Abe to develop crops resiliency, raise income, land productivity and consequently improve the economic condition of their families.

The barangay Roma, an area geographically gifted with rich soils is perfectly suitable for growing different kinds of vegetable crops. The SMMI is selected to be the DAR’s first-ever beneficiary of the bio-intensive gardening project under the CRFPSP as most of the members of the association are full-time high-value vegetable farmers.

Through the implementation of the CRFPSP, the SMMI was able to establish and develop a climate-resilient bio-intensive vegetable demo-farm using the technology provided with assigned individual farmer-cooperators who work in each of the divided areas.  Bio-intensive gardening technology was introduced using organic agriculture system and use of natural fertilizers which achieve maximum yields using minimum land area. Its objective is to improve land fertility for long-term sustainability while maintaining balanced biodiversity.

 

DAR intervention was installation permanent raised beds and provided irrigation facilities to address the problems on water scarcity during dry periods.  The low-cost irrigation facility works with the water coming from the shallow tube well collected through the support of a water-pump.  Water goes to an artificial reservoir, flows to pipes of different sizes and goes down straight to the vegetables – a technology, farmers in the area have never done before.

 

“The permanent raised beds really work.  With the simple technology on raised beds, we are now confident to plant high-value crops not worrying about floods would soak it. And comes a dry period, water will always be available. It is really helpful", said Ka Abe.

 

The farmer co-operators were introduced to new fertilizer techniques.  The project helped them build a simple composting system, which will benefit the field and garden with low-cost, abundant and natural fertilizers.

With new seeds and better farming techniques, Ka Abe and other farmers’ were able to have bountiful harvests and as such raised their family income by 30%.

“We now grow lettuce which we then thought we would never live here.  Now, these broccolis near its flowering stage which will soon be harvested.  In the next planting season, we will try to plant cabbage and then let’s see if it will work”, said Ka Abe.

The DAR project team believes that as they learn and implement new techniques, they will pass that knowledge on to all farmers, including non-members, so the community can benefit from stronger harvests and more income.

In February 2018, the DAR together with the management of SMMI launched the Roma Sur Biointensive Garden which was witnessed by stakeholders such as the national government agencies, the Local Government Unit (LGU), non-government organizations. The SMMI formally received facilities and farm equipment such as shredder, water pumps, pipes and other small farm tools.

 

SMMI introduced the “pick and pay” promo strategy and was the first ARBO to promote agro-tourism in Mansalay municipality in February 2018.

“Kapag nagtatanim ako, nararamdaman ko ang kalikasan.  Masayang-masaya ako lalo’t hawak ko ang isang halaman at pinapatubo ko”, Ka Abe said.

Recently, the SMMI was provided by one (1) unit of greenhouse worth over P500,000 under the DAR Program Against Hunger and Poverty (PAHP) to boost their quality seedlings production. One (1) unit of heavy-duty shredder will be awarded this year in support to the organic compost production and an additional one (1) unit of rototiller to mechanize vegetable farming in other areas.

 

“We are thankful to DAR with the very helpful intervention it provided us.  We are now being noticed by many stakeholders.  The LGU even pledges support to this project this year”, said Ka Abe.

 

Complementing the project, additional technical farming and organizational capability trainings packaged with a vermin-compost building under the DAR Village Level Farm-focused Enterprise Development (VLFED) will be awarded to the association this year.

 

Ka Abe is optimistic of the success of the project and promised that the bio-intensive system will be replicated by farmers as it has proven a very positive result.

 

“God willing, we will be seeing this astonishing landscape greener and more lush all year round, our faces filled with smiles and our children’s baskets with bundles of colorful success.” – Ka Abe