The funny thing about the Philippines is this: we love acting like every good idea just arrived yesterday on a cargo ship from Singapore wearing a blazer and speaking English with a consultancy accent. Bamboo included. Suddenly everybody in government PowerPoints discovered “green materials,” “carbon capture,” and “sustainable innovation,” as if the kawayan beside the…
In photo show young CEO and philanthropist Aileen Choi Go and a fruit-bearing breadfruit downloaded from the website of Pacific Community website. At 6 a.m. today, I will join a young Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a hygienic products corporation who is also an Agriculture and Food Security Advocate in establishing what could be the…
In the fields in Polomolok, South Cotabato where we planted Sorghum for grains and forage production, I noticed tall stalks which stood out towering by 3 to 4 feet over normal Sorghum. Sorghum breeders call these mutants as “Off-Types” and the recommendation is to eliminate them to maintain “purity.” But I am the type of…
On May 16, we will mark the historic founding of the Philippine Wagyu Association with an organizational dinner meeting at The Ritz Hotel Garden Oases in Barrio Obrero, Davao City. To make the event more meaningful, the dinner’s main fare will be Roasted Wagyu Calf coming from the Great Arch Farm in Polomolok, South Cotabato…
About three weeks ago, I sat down with successful corporate executives to present to them an idea which I had long nurtured in my mind – turning farmers from mere raw materials producers into agri-entrepreneurs and corporate shareholders. I thought of this concept knowing that one of the biggest failures of Philippine Agriculture is the…
Early yesterday, a group of farmers from one of the towns in my province came to my farmhouse to share their woes as they face astronomical increase in fuel prices. “Indi na gid ma-agwanta Sir. Basi mauntat lang anay kami,” said the officers of the farmers group with a total cultivation area of 600 hectares…
In photo: Photo grabbed from a video taken by the Braveheart Media Group in the farm of Sec. Conrado Estrella III in Carmen, Pangasinan. Two years ago, I initiated the Search for the Biggest Breadfruit in the Philippines offering a cash prize of P50,000 for the Top 3 winners. The biggest breadfruit weighed 3.910-kilos submitted…
The vision of establishing a farm family-based Wagyu Cattle Industry is slowly but surely taking shape. After the last three Wagyu Forums scheduled in General Santos, Mandaue City and Cagayan de Oro City next month, an estimated 1,000 heads of Wagyu Breeders are expected to arrive in the Philippines from Australia. Many of these breeders…
There are two systems in land preparation for Sorghum and Soybeans farming which I have adopted depending on the situation on the ground – Zero Tillage and Deep Plowing! Both have advantages and disadvantages. In the Zero Tillage System, “seeds are planted directly into undisturbed soil, resulting in numerous environmental and climate benefits. And the…
As we enjoy the comforts of our home and the warm embrace of people we love, there is one man who sits alone in a cell of a jail in a foreign land, all because he did what he believed was best for his country and his people. Guilty or Innocent, hated or loved, the…
