With the spiraling cost of chemical fertilizers and other imported agricultural inputs as pesticides and animal health products, the use of farm-based materials for “green” or organic farming is becoming popular.
Does organic farming really work and provide a decent income for a farmer and his family? It can, if the farmer has the entrepreneurial skills, know-how and diligence to apply it, we found out from Renato Belen of Barangay San Juan, San Pablo City, Laguna.
“Ato” as Renato is known to friends is no ordinary farmer. Back in the 1960’s, he worked as an administrative assistant of a government office after graduating with an A.B. in English degree. In the 1970’s, he even served the United States embassy in Manila for two years.
With a growing family and the hard times of the early 1980’s, Ato decided to quit his job and be self-employed. Starting with the 1.4-hectare land given by the parents of his wife Eleanor, he went into farming by first producing nursery plants for fruit trees.
Ato learned how to mass produce the seedlings and grafted plants of rambutan, duku and durian through readings and experience. Through the years, he developed the skills and reputation of being a reliable supplier of quality nursery plants for orchards. The Ato Belen’s Farm is now a by-word to fruit growers near and far.
Although he was already earning a sizeable income from his nursery plant operation and fruit bearing trees, Ato realized that the sales of his farm fluctuated with the season. There were more plants and fruits sold during the rainy season than in the dry season. The season for rambutan is only from August to September while that for lanzones is from October to November in Laguna. To even out the lean months, Ato ventured into pig farming which is a year-round operation in 1987. It was this project which prodded him into organic farming.
“A major concern in the raising of pigs is the proper disposal of wastes,” Ato said. “Our neighbors used to complain about the bad odor and flies that came from our piggery.”
To address the environmental problem, Ato first tried gathering the fresh manure from the pig pens daily and composting it with the waste plant materials from his orchard. But as his piggery expanded, he found the volume of wastes and labor for its collection unwieldy.
In 1990, Ato installed a biogas generation system in his piggery with the help of Wenceslao Virtucio of San Antonio, Quezon at a cost of only P12,000. Even now at a 74-sow level, the system still works and provides a continuous supply of organic fertilizer from the sludge while at the same time producing fuel for the cooking needs of his family.
“We already recovered the cost of the biogas system years ago. What’s more, the pollution problem of our piggery was solved and our neighbours no longer complain.”
Ato totally gave up the use of chemical fertilizers in his nursery and orchard in 1989. He and his wife have acquired an additional 12 hectares for fruit trees. Today, they have more than 300 fruit-bearing trees of various kinds. “We apply 5 to 10 kilos of compost per tree twice a year. We also use the compost for the potting mix of our nursery plants,” he said.
Since he went organic, Ato claims that his trees have become more fruit-laden, their fruits sweeter and his sales briskier. “We also start harvesting our rambutans two months earlier in June and July than other producers.”
To eliminate the use of pesticides to control flies in his piggery, Ato also opted for the organic solution. He first tried the application of a commercial probiotic product which costs P1,500 per liter in the market to suppress the odor of the manure and discourage the breeding of flies. After experimenting, he was able to produce his own supply of the probiotic preparation which he says works as well as the commercial one. He sells it only at P150 per liter to others.
Ato believes that the use of his preparation which he applies daily on his pigs by drenching them with a solution of one liter to 200 liters of water has protected them from dreaded diseases such as the FMD. He relates that about four years ago, when the disease rampaged the piggeries in their area, only his and that of his in-laws were spared despite the fact that their animals were not vaccinated.
Being open to innovative ideas, Ato is now into vermicomposting and “vermin tea” application. “I am trying out the “vermin tea” brewer invented by Capt. Bong Reamon who says that it is not only good as a source of foliar fertilizer but also has fungicidal and insecticidal actions.”
Ato and Eleanor who holds a B.S. in Animal Science from UPLB, have six sons, one of whom works with the city agriculturist’s office, two are medical doctors, one is an agribusiness graduate, another is a computer science graduate and the youngest is an engineer. The very enterprising couple employ 12 people in their farm.
Readers may contact Renato Belen through telephone (049) 562-1215, cellphone (0916) 4337388 or e-mail at atobelen@yahoo.com. ■
“This Agricultural Entrepreneur Practices Organic Farming”
Written by Dr. Rafael D. Guerrero III
Source: Agriculture Magazine (October 2005)
CURRENTS Section (Pages 20-21)
