FISHPONDS, TREE FARMS, PIGGERY/POULTRY/LIVESTOCK, ORCHARDS, AND OTHER RELATED AGRIBUS

[mariner]

In the far north:
- fishponds seeded with tilapia nilotica (we now distribute tilapia fingerlings)
- a parcel of land planted with about 3,000 coconut trees, now bearing nuts
- a tree farm planted with around 500 gmelina (yemane) trees, now about 4 years old
- ~ 60 heads of native chicken
- 1 pregnant sow
- 4 Bulgarian buffaloes (government dispersal program); 1 native buffalo (kalabaw)
- 2 does (goats), 1 kid – crossbreed of native and Anglo-Nubian
- a hundred grafted calamansi plants, most now fruit bearing
- … and more minor items
In Bulacan
- ~500 grafted mango trees, 5-year olds, now flowering
- 36 ducks
- 6 heads hogs (fatteners)
- various stands of premium hardwood species (the vanishing types, owing to illegal logging)
- various kinds of flowering plants
- … and more minor items

An engineer; last employed by an oil company; returned to basics; finds countryside life much more fulfilling; would like to discuss business opportunities in rural areas (or countryside livelihood options), including, but not limited to problems besetting a farmer…

[B@tibOt]

i ones post a thread for me to have some background or info on how to start a piggery, sadly i only got one reply. i also one of (i think) many that want to go to basic. hoping you can help me by giving me some lecture or info on how to start a piggery,( structures, capitals, profit, etc.) in short ho to start & how to run it. thank you

[mariner]

Questions:

Where do you intend to set up your project?
What is the lot area of the project site?
How much are you willing to shell out for this project?

More questions to follow before we can have a more serious discussion of the matter.

[B@tibOt]

Regarding where i'm planing to do the project, i plan two put it up in Bicol side, i have to set of land there 1st is 500 squre meter but meron nakatira sa mga near by area, pero some part of it is still a rice field, 2nd is 30,000 squre meter pero near the sea i think, (it will be a problem ba kung sakali).

about how much i 'm ready to spend on this project, well as of now i only have 100t, para sa lahat na yun (structures, pigs, feeds etc.) but thats for the starting, wala pang pondo i'm looking for some close friend to be my partner pa e.

[mariner]

Kung may nakatira sa malapit, mas malapit din sa sakit ang mga alaga mo. Malapit din sa nakaw. I would prefer the 3-ha lot.

My brother-in-law just recently sold his 3 ½-month 8 fatteners (pigs) for P 36,000. He spent a total of P 21,000. He acquired the piglets at P 1,200/head (P 9,600 for the 8) and the balance he spent on commercial feeds. He did not place a value on his labor, since according to him, he enjoyed rearing the pigs. In the early stages, he used Purina (I am not advertising) as, according to him per his experience this is the best brand he used so far, despite being more expensive than the other brands. In their last month, to reduce costs on feeds, he mixed the commercial feeds with boiled cassava and “sapal ng niyog” (ito ‘yung matitira na solid particles kung gagawa ka ng gata). Mga sarili niyang tanim ‘yung cassava at niyog – so libre – at hindi rin niya binigyan ito ng value.

Don’t go into partnership. Go on your own even if you have to start small, especially since you are just to enter the business. And never practice remote-control management. Do it hands on. You can do it.

I can only give you some tips. If you have a friend who finished veterinary medicine, he’s the one you should ask for the details.

[ck2001]

mariner,

I wonder how much would you be needing (discounting the cost of owning the land) to start an agricultural business -- let's say piggery, and then siguro mango, and other fruit crops. How the does the business go -- like where can I consign all the produce I will have and which govt/private agencies can we rely on in terms of financial funding, seed technology, irrigation/help, etc.? Frankly, I do not have much knowledge about the whole business, but I am quite interested on an agricultural venture.

By the way, what age would you recommend someone to get into this business? I'm quite like you -- working in urban communities whose income is really dependent on the industry found in the cities.

[B@tibOt]

mariner thank for the info & encouragement, by the way you have said that the cost of the 8 piglet is 9,600 & sold 36,000 after 3 1/2 months, so it means 11,400 for the cost of the feeds you spend for 3 months?. can i rely on agriculture business as a source of income, from your experience what can you say?.

[mariner]

Word of caution… I am not really an expert. I can only share with you my experiences when I went into this agribusiness thing. I’ve had my downs, my downs, and ups.

If you have land, make full use of the land. If you venture into piggery, maybe you could plant crops that could also supplement as feeds, e.g. cassava, camote, etc.. Then maybe you could also raise some chickens (native as they are more sturdy), ducks, a few goats, one or two heads of cattle. Bicol, I believe, is often visited by typhoons. Mango trees would not be appropriate. Look around the vicinity. What fruit trees abound and are productive in your area?

If you start small, I am very sure your community could absorb all of your products.

Funding: Your parents, brothers & sisters, if they believe in you. Local cooperatives and rural banks lend money at low interest rates.

Technology: There are supposed to be what they call the agricultural extension officers or workers of the Department of Agriculture and Food. You can learn some from them. There are also magazines, books and other publications you could find at bookstores and at the TLRC (Technology & Livelihood Research Center?) with office and library at Makati. As for your piggery project, you can best rely on the local technicians of feeds manufacturers (inquire from the feeds dealer).

What age? A lot of employees, like I was once before, dream of working on their land after their retirement. That would be too late. You may not even reach your retirement age if you work in the city considering the pressure of work, the pollution, the “nakakainis na trapik”, at iba pa. Nothing is too early. It may be somewhat late already if you are already married, have kids going to school in the city, and the sole breadwinner of the family. Nevertheless, nothing is too late, either.

As source of income: There are many prosperous farmers. I am not yet one of them, but I hope to be, soon.

I don't stay quite often in the city. I spend more time in the province. If you don't receive an early reply, don't worry, I will at some later time. Just post your thread.

[gumacanian]

At one point we had 120 pigs and were quite optimistic.
7 years down the line after being sick & tired of fluctuating feed prices and greedy meat market traders and worst....Foot & mouth desease,delivered by the vet..We called it a day...We lasted 7 years because we were determined to recoup the money that we put in....We failed,dismally.
We tried again with battery hens for 18 months and could only break even.
Fortunatley I have a reliable source of income,which was often diverted to the piggery (Good money turned bad).

Im sorry to give a negative outlook to your proposition but thats what happened to us!!

One of the most important things you will need is a good reliable water source(The whole year round}
We thought we had one until the well run dry but thats another story!!
A competetive feed supplier that will be sympathetic when pigs at a selling weight will not sell because of rumours that foot & mouth is spreading 60km away.In other words...A good line of credit!!
Pigs dont understand when you try to explain to them
that lunch will not be served until supper time,in fact they make frightening disagreeable noises...Ahh bless them :lol:

Look if you really are adamant that this is what you want to do then the only advice that I can give you is to start small and stay that way until you at least double your money. That way the business will finance any expansion plans and not your life savings.....Good luck..You`ll need it!

[ck2001]

gumacanian,

We'll take note of your cautionary advice. If you don't mind, I wonder at what age did you venture into agribussiness? And how much money did you raise for this project (during what year)? We want to get more input and perspective from people like you and mariner as much as we can.

What other problems do you think could possibly beset this kind of livelihood?

[gumacanian]

Im not prepared to tell you my age,except to say that im no spring chicken!!
Started approx 10 years ago.Capital...250.000
Yes there are more problems involved,Of course there are. But what business is without problems??
A piggery/poultry/agri buis. must be a labour of love
and money must take second priority.
You have to be there all the time as relying on others doesnt work and is a drain on profits that you will need in the months following.
Simple things like free feed delivery helps.
Watching what the vet does and learning from him/her so that in time you can carry out certain procedures yourself will be of benefit too.

Our mother,who has a sari sari store,always kept a couple of pigs out back and she always did well..Why? Because she also sold feed (retail) via the store. The profit from the feed that she sold went into the pigs stomach and in real terms cost her nothing! In a way ,her pigs were like her bank account(personal savings). So this may be well worth taking into account.
Producing your own feeds from raw product and selling (wholesale) working along side your piggery is probably the way to go,although obviously,will require a large amount of capital. Of course,In effect,this will be like running two different businesses that complement each other at the same time.
Invest your time in seminars and check out sucsessful operations that have tried and trusted methods.
Never take advice from just anybody!! When starting a project like this because the so called experts are everywhere...Even the local mechanic will tell you he once had pigs!!
Dont spend large amounts of capital on buildings..Keep it small and add on later.
I cant emphasise enough how important it is to have a quality water source...Do you?? How about drainage??
Can you rely on family when you cannot be there for a day or two?...
What building design do you have in mind??

[gumacanian]

B***P

[guapa]

we used to manage a 20,000 layer poultry farm. we produced our own feeds and life was easy until our farm was hit with a fowl disease which cost us about 200+ head plus a day. Fortunately, we were able to get that very expensive medicine and was able to control the disease. but i think we lost almost 2,000 heads and that was soooo bad. since then, my dad decided not to undergo that heart-breaking experience anymore and we finally decided to get away from that 22 year old business. we are still keeping the 'invisible ranch' where in we have hundreds of heads of cattle disperesed in different towns. at least, whereve we feel like having lechon baka, we can have it anytime at no cost.

[mariner]

Am back after the holy week…

In our locality, including the neighboring towns within a radius of about 60 kilometers, a lot of farmers are making their own fishponds, mostly backyard ones. By backyard I mean about 1000 sqm of pond. I find this particularly good for my own business because at this point in time I am their supplier of their tilapia fingerlings. In the last quarter, we have disposed at least a million fingerlings. Sooner or later they will also learn the tilapia hatchery business and there will be a more lively competition. Prices will go down, including those for adult tilapia. We still sell adult tilapia at P65/k wholesale. In Central Luzon, the cost of tilapia is P50-60/k retail.

Ang masaya nito, kahit paano ay nakauna ng kaunti.

My own observations and analysis why a lot of farmers in our locality are including tilapia fishponds in their ventures:

1. The Department of Agriculture (DA)and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)are aggressively introducing the idea to the farmers;
2. Some farmers who have tried tilapia fishponds find this venture more profitable than piggery;
3. With tilapia fishponds you can go intensive (high stocking density – intensive feeding with commercial feeds – 20 to 50 tilapias per sqm of surface area), semi-intensive (less frequent feeding with commercial feeds, darak and/or other substitutes used – 5 to 10 tilapias per sqm), or extensive (fish rely on fishpond algae – 2 to 5 per sqm).
4. Harvesting need not be one-time. Farmers can get their daily fish requirements from their on pond.

I myself would not venture into a large scale piggery project. It is highly capital intensive and I am not that liquid. Tama na ang may pang-lechon kung may mahalagang okasyon.

I would not also venture into a large scale poultry (45-day manok). Kaparehas din yan ng baboy. Sapat na ‘yong bibi at native na manok na pang-pinikpikan kung may inuman.

‘Yung mangga na tanim namin sa Bulacan – marami-rami ring pawis at hinagpis ang inabot namin dito. Initially, the area was not fenced. Natapos ang anihan, gumala ang mga baka, kinain iyong mga bagong tanim na mangga. Binakuran. Dumating ang El Nino, nasunog ang mga tuyong damo, tinamaan din ang lintik na mga mangga. Tanim pa rin! Kamakalawa, pagkagaling sa mas malayong probinsiya, dumaan sa Bulacan – nakapag-uwi ng humigit kumulang isang kaing na mangga. Mga unang bunga. Masaya!

Isang kaing na mangga – P 500.00. Isang punong mangga – isang kaing sa pangalawang taon na pamumunga. Limandaang mangga, 500 kaing, P250,000 sa pangalawang taon na pamumunga. Gulang ng mangga? 6 na taon.

[amgonzalez]

I've read all the posts made on this thread & am truly impressed with some of the contributions made.

I'm a believer that the only way for prosperity to start in the Philippines is by providing work to the idle. This includes the creation of work opportunities for the poor in the countryside. I am also a believer that we shouldn't expect politicians or government to contribute much and therefore, we should look only to ourselves to get started. I also believe that if we do this correctly, we will set an example for many others to follow.

Here's the challenge

Let's set up & run an organization devoted to do the following :

Raise the level of consciousness of all Filipinos in & out of the Philipines towards systematic & methodical inter related, job creation. This is our first goal.

We string together a series of work creating opportunities that are inter related to one another. Pretty much what MARINER describes in his first post.

All must be geared towards SYSTEMATIC & METHODICAL job creation. These activities must be chosen on the basis of

- high visibility ( because it will help sell the idea & more people will take an active role )
- providing sufficient food ( rice production, corn production, chicken raising, fish raising, etc )
- US $ the Phils. saves from non importation of whatever's produced
- making the idle do something constructive

Here's an example

If we pursue our first project for say, raising chickens. Say project cost is 2,280,000 pesos ( US $ 51,000 ) & we could allot these monies to say, 1,000 families in their barangays, we could be talking of producing 50 tons of chickens every 5 weeks !

This is pretty much what GUAPA says with her " invisible ranch "

The resulting chicken adobo is not only going to be enjoyed, it'll give us a lot of armament to sell our cause further ( i.e. less US $ out to buy US frozen chickens, more & hopefully, affordable chickens for everyone ). We may " open more eyes ", if, in addition, we include that X househoulds now have Y incomes when previously they had zero !

The idea is to tie this project up with other projects that are inter related for example,
corn raising
chicken feed production
tilapia feed production ( partly from chicken manure )
tilapia raising


HOW DO WE PROCEED ?

We could start small, like say on a pilot scale that can grow quickly if we get the right results. By starting small, I mean, let's start out as cells & multiply ( just like the human body ). These cells would actually work as teams. These are,

PLANNING TEAMS

We need to start with one planning team !

A planning team should consist of a few who can contribute " hands on" with experience & time.
MARINER are you interested ?

Each PLANNING TEAM will
A. Analyze different projects that may be worthwhile & be relatively easy to implement. Study socio-economic benefits of each & time required to see tangible results. Analyze each project according to visibility, i.e. which project do we think will get more funding support ?
B. Decide as a team which project to pursue & why it should be pursued.
C. Prepare the specific details of the project chosen ( targets, dates, mechanisms to set in place, monies required )
D. Prepare marketing/business plan for the project
E. Project start & Operation. Some planning team members will be required to effect the project & see it is run correctly


RECRUITMENT TEAM

With the first PLANNING TEAM formed, a RECRUITMENT TEAM is needed. Its goals are
- bring the job creation message everywhere !
- recruit members as active participants ( those who can contribute " hands on" with experience & time )
- recruit new planning teams
- recruit donors in conjunction with UPDATES TEAM


UPDATES TEAM

This team is responsible in keeping everyone abreast on developments. Its function is most important as its success will create the formation of new planning teams. Moreso, it will help the recruitment team bring in new members & very importantly new & fresh monies for new & different projects. Ideally, we are looking for people with experience in television, radio, newspapers, internet, etc.

Some Goals are
- spreading the job creation message by explaining each project's specific goals
- explaining the specific funding required per project
- updates on collection made vs. target
- tangible progress reports on each project
- up to date list of donors/dates/amounts
- explanation of what we're doing to collect funds to expand our base.
- updates on recruitment with volunteer lists
- forum for idea exchange towards more funding avenues and future project(s) preparation

With fresh progress updates, support & recruitment may be sustainable. Real people success stories is the way to go. Anything & everything we do should be directed to show this.


What say all of you ? How many of you would be interested to work on such a challenge ?

[mariner]

amgonzales TY for saying my topic is a “must read”…

nix (administrator) what do you mean by “these projects should not be started in isolation”?

Kuya Danny (Moderator), I disagree that “the only way for prosperity to start in the Philippines is by providing work to the idle”.

“Once there was a teener who believed that the poor were poor because they were exploited by the rich. The young boy joined mass organizations espousing revolution to dislodge the bourgeoisie (and the imperialists) from their pedestal.

I really can not say at what point in time the young man changed… to believe that the poor are poor because they are idle and that they are idle because they are.”

I believe that the only way for prosperity to start in the Philippines is to start on our own. From myself, to my wife, to my kids, to my relatives, to my townmates… but not discounting others as my PexMates because I learn a lot from you.

(My discourse does not end here…)

[amgonzalez]

Mariner

As a continuation of the challenge I posted earlier, let us blue sky a little bit.

Say, we've been able to collect 2,000,000 pesos and you have accepted the role of forming the PLANNING TEAM,

What would you do ?

Where would you invest these monies so as to create the largest number of jobs ?

[fossil7]

i myself have the same dream of indulging into agri business coz thats where my heart is. pero, not have enough money so work muna sa city. and im happy to find this thread with so much info that i can use if ever mag start din ako a few years from now.

so far, ang dami nyong niraise na mga points on which people, even small farmers, could adopt to improve their rural lives.

i hope amgonzalez's proposal would materialize and we pexer's could come up with a body that will make all this hopes possible. with the unselfish objective of these ideas, combine with energetic and experience players, any goal is possible.

by the way, aside from TLRC, you could also tap Gerry Geronimo of Ating Alamin for more resources.

[amgonzalez]

Fossil 7

" Sana ? "

" Sana " means hope but you use it to mean, " let the others do it "

Fossil 7, don't you realize that we are that hope ?

Don't you understand that unless we start others won't follow ?

Don't you understand why we need to do this & we need to do it now ( please read, " ITS NOT CHICKEN FEED " at Local & Foreign issues for some economic explanations )

Mariner ? Ano ba ? Game ?

[fossil7]

Originally posted by amgonzalez
Fossil 7

" Sana ? "

" Sana " means hope but you use it to mean, " let the others do it "

Fossil 7, don't you realize that we are that hope ?

Don't you understand that unless we start others won't follow ?

Don't you understand why we need to do this & we need to do it now ( please read, " ITS NOT CHICKEN FEED " at Local & Foreign issues for some economic explanations )

Mariner ? Ano ba ? Game ?



i know what u mean. and sa cause nyo, im willing to join. pero, tingnan mo, sa hamon mo, may nagreact na ba toward its possibilities? well, siguro, bc or wala pa silang masabi. sana nga ganon.

we did this kind of invitation na rin before, sa local and foreign thhread, its one pexer's challenge to make a positive change in our country. maraming may sinabi, konti lang kaming willing magwork. kaya wala rin kaming nasimulan. sayang. sana hindi ganon ito. goodluck though.

[amgonzalez]

fossil7

your comment, " GOOD LUCK THOUGH " equals,

People Plunder 1 then 2, then 3.......


It is correct to hope but it isn't correct to only hope.

This is how our poor have been conditioned. To only hope leads them to think that they are useless. Many times therefore, they don't even want to try.

We must provide them with some basic tools & resources to make them competitive, to make them want to work & not just expect dole, we would be effecting change.

Take the case of the poor, how many of them are unemployed ?

How many of our middle class are underemployed ?

We are talking, staggering numbers, 12 million people ??? Is it more ?

Not enough includes hoping that somebody else will.

Systematic & Methodical job creation for the idle, NOW ! And let us not wait for the government or anybody else to do it !

[fossil7]

Originally posted by amgonzalez

fossil7

your comment, " GOOD LUCK THOUGH " equals,

People Plunder 1 then 2, then 3.......


It is correct to hope but it isn't correct to only hope.

This is how our poor have been conditioned. To only hope leads them to think that they are useless. Many times therefore, they don't even want to try.

We must provide them with some basic tools & resources to make them competitive, to make them want to work & not just expect dole, we would be effecting change.

Take the case of the poor, how many of them are unemployed ?

How many of our middle class are underemployed ?

We are talking, staggering numbers, 12 million people ??? Is it more ?

Not enough includes hoping that somebody else will.

Systematic & Methodical job creation for the idle, NOW ! And let us not wait for the government or anybody else to do it !

with respect to the social dilemma of lack of employment, great poverty, poor education, discrimination and other negative stuffs, i think i have a better picture of that. i happen to live in an urban poor community here in manila. i, just like you have tons of ideas in mind. the problem, most of these people are not really helpless. well, most are, but not all. you see, there's this phenomenon that once uve been stricken with the poverty disease, it will eat a great sense of rationality in u. many of these people would rather chose dole outs than sweating their way out their missery. specially in urban poor. grabe!!! once kinain ng sistema ng kahirapan ang utak mo, very hard na umangat muli, but possible.

i believe there are social studies on how to penetrate the poverty stricken kababayans and making them responsive to these calls. the best remedy is always the method of teaching them how to catch fish. and in our society, i agree that empowering the rural community through revolutionize agricultural methods is one great potential we can bank on. with the kind of govt that we have right now, we have a better chance of seeing this through. i hope this time, its for real. dont worry, people with this kinds of intention never leave the earth unanswered.

sige na nga, di na good luck... count me in... :D

[amgonzalez]

fossil7

Your analysis of the situation is exactly correct !

This leads me to ask you only 1 more question..

Do you now realize the importance of what you have just said ?

" Count me in "

This is the beginning of true change.
This message must be passed on to others ( your friends, your neighbors, your relatives ). Ask them to help us spread this same message, it will help us bring about change. This is the only hope we Filipinos have as a nation. We must begin to stop feeling sorry for ourselves, we must roll up our sleeves !

I am presently preparing a feasibility study for the propagation of hybrid rice. As you surely know, the Philippines is short not only on $ for paying off debts but also on rice. Can you believe that we still have to import large quantities ?

The idea behind this is to make the small farmer plant it & use it in his fields so that we may grow, cheaper & better rice. I will post details later on so that you can help me propagate the message & get this thing started. With this example, our hope is for others to follow (we won't get it done alone ).

My email is monomano88@yahoo.com

Anybody else wants to join ?

[intoxicated]

Hi Mariner, I'm thinking about farming tiger prawns and but i don't know the extent of the cost it will take for me to start this biz, how much would it cost to invest in this kind of biz?Are some sort of "fishponds" needed to cultivate/produce tiger prawns?Hope you can give me an idea of this kind of biz...just think of a hypothetical lot area and give the estimated cost or investment needed...thanks and hope you can reply soon

[fossil7]

amgonzalez

thanks for the invitation. commitment is one thing im very careful at. but it is dependent on issues which i find interesting. in this case, my involvement in these talks inspite of no experience at all in this field speaks for itself.

regarding ur feasibility, we have here a pexer by the nick of tazbivr have the same intention as u have. revolutionize crop raising and if i remember it right, he's into it right now, spending a much reasonable investment in this endeavor in the purpose of proving and relaying to our farmers out there, (i think, he's in Isabela) that Hybrid farming is the answer.

pardon my inexeperience in these field, plus i dont have any resources to share or invest, but for a start, i think i am well capable of sweating to any endeavor that would benefit others. done that before. research or finding resources to back up ur project, count me in.

[amgonzalez]

fossil 7

Thank you.

Am already in contact with tazvibr. We are looking at this project jointly.

There will be plenty of things to do in the not so distant future. Keep your eyes open & email me when you can.

Thanks again.

ATTN : INTOXICATED

Careful with prawn growing !

I suggest you check with the people responsible at San Miguel Calatrava - Agri Business Group

I understand, that due to a variety of reasons, overfarming & some virus ( which infested many prawn ponds in the past few years ) the outputs have dropped considerably making this business, a so - so proposition.

I understand Thailand, has been able to solve these problems. I hope you share your findings when you get them for our better information & dessimination.

Question for you, INTOXICATED :

Would you consider forming part of group whose goal would be to get some land available to some farmers & teaching them what to do in so far as fishponds is concerned ?

[KuyaDanny]

I have been following this thread with interest. Thank you, mariner for starting it, and everyone else for expanding the discussion.

I suppose it's never too late to learn, so I hope you don't mind if I butted in once in a while to asked some questions about the subject matter.

My first one is this: I would think it is quite easy to construct a crude measure of agricultural productivity by measuring annual net income per square meter of land, for different crops. Can anyone provide some reasonable numbers for such items as a) rice; b) sugar; c) coconut; d) mango; and e) banana?

[amgonzalez]

Kuya Danny

The questions you've posed, to me, sound like you'd do very well in a planning team !

However, before we all get excited, please permit me to caution you on a few things relative the questions you just raised.

Yield per square meter is necessary, whether its bananas or pineapple, rice or corn. Farmers & workers need to be told this BUT consider the following:

1. if everybody saw that mangoes were most profitable based on the effort put in, we would have everyone growing mangoes & forgetting about producing rice or corn, which we'd need to import.

2. Point 1 is well & good provided the export earnings
of the mangoes more than compensate the $ cost of bringing in corn or rice.

3. Point 1 & 2 are fine provided the earnings from growing the mangoes are spread out as much as possible to as many people as possible ( remember our problem is most everyone is dirt poor). Our problem of perceived inequality is because some have plenty while others have nothing.

Therefore, I will introduce another concept for purposes of the discussion as follows,

Can we target a yield in pesos per square meter for anyone doing multiple activities with no overlap with other activities ?

Unclear ?

Here's an example

We go into community A with 1000 families, we introduce the following :

a. corn raising
b. chicken growing
c. fruit trees ( kaimito )
d. lawaan ( hardwood )

We go into the next community, adjoined to community A with 1000 families, we introduce the following :

a. Hybrid rice propagation
b. tilapia fishponds
c. fruit trees ( mangoes )
d. narra ( hardwood )

We go into the next community, adjoined to community B with 1000 families, we introduce the following :

a. Chicken Dropping Treatment ( fertilizer, fish & hog feed)
b. Soy Bean raising
c. fruit trees ( chico )
d. molave ( hardwood )

We go into the next community, adjoined to community C with 1000 families, we introduce the following :

a. Pineapple Growing
b. Soy Bean Processing ( tofu, vegemeat, soy sauce )
c. fruit trees ( santol )
d. kamagong ( hardwood )

We go into the next community, adjoined to community D with 1000 families, we introduce the following :

a. Assorted vegetable Growing
b. Bananas
c. Hog Raising
d. fruit trees ( guava )
e. palosapis ( hardwood )

And so on.....until we become self sufficient in everything.

The idea here is to spread our activities so that average earnings by community are roughly equal. This is possible if we do not repeat the same activities, too soon. If we can do these, then the following are achievable :

Methodical & Systematic job creation

Non competition between communities. Better relations with neighbors. Interdependence for work, more progress

Prices for goods will remain stable at beginning, as production increases so will demand. Eventually, prices will drop. With very low prices, we will have many things to offer the export markets

With food in the stomachs, ingenuity & education will have value. Bio diesel from coconut & palm seeds at the community levels will eventually mean electrification even in the most remote towns !

Vote buying & corrupt, good for nothing politicians will become extinct. OFWs won't leave. People who presently can not pay taxes will.

Prosperity at last.

[KuyaDanny]

I understand that we cannot always plant the crops that return the highest value per square meter. If we could, then the entire country would be overgrown with bananas.

Besides, the yields depend on such factors as soil, sunlight, rainfall, and other things which are better left to Mother Nature.

I would think agriculture is like all economic activity an exercise in resource optimization. With all due respect to the practitioners of agribusiness in this forum, I sometimes get the feeling that people embark on agribusiness ventures mostly for romantic and emotional reasons - such as "making productive use of the land inherited from my grandparents", "feeding the population and contributing to nation-building," or "cultivating and growing living things." That's all well and good, but for agriculture to be sustainable, the numbers have to make sense.

For my own understanding, I'd like to know if the numbers do make sense. But first, I think I need to know what those numbers are, which is why I asked my first question.

[dashing_joyce]

if you need any agricultural tools, i might be able to help you. just drop me a message or email me at hannah.co@gmail.com some agri products we have are sprinklers, mist blowers, telescopic pruners, earth augers, etc

[Spyfrat]

im a buyer of dried seaweeds. anyone selling pls pm me. thx

[{xuxa}]

Hello everyone,

I enjoyed reading this thread. You see, I married into a family comprised of farmers. My husband's family has a 13 hectare lot in Bulacan with around a thousand mango trees interspersed with a variety of vegetables like squash, tomatoes, eggplants, calamansi, okra and camote. Coupled with hard work, my in-laws were able to send their 3 kids through good schools.

I'm 24 by the way (21 when I got married) and right now, my hubby and I are starting to venture into papaya business. Capital is not that big but returns are quite satisfactory. We started with 1000 trees (Sinta variety) @ 5 pesos/kilo.

Agribusiness is one of the best businesses out there, me thinks. Lahat ng tao kumakain so your produce will never ever go out of demand. Of course, there are risks involved... mostly things you have no control over such as typhoons. But all in all, business is good. We are both employed so papaya production is our sideline. There is something so fulfilling in crop-raising. It's like you and nature are working in tandem to produce food. Hehe!

Anyway, I think the mango business is one of the most profitable there is. My in-laws (aside from mango raising) are also into "pakyawan". Nag-spray sila ng mga mangga ng mga katabing lupa namin tapos hati sila sa kikitain sa harvest. They earn at least a million per harvest season (usually during March-May). After ng mango season, vegetables naman ang inaasikaso nila.

Sorry for the long post.. I'm just excited na may mga tao pa rin pala na gusto mag-venture into agribusiness. Kasi sa totoo lang, mahirap sya. Madalas kang mabilad sa araw, madudumihan ang kamay at paa mo.. very far from the comforts of an airconditioned office. Pero when it comes to profit and satisfaction, two thumbs up!

Sana dumami pa tayo!

[fossil7]

tagal na neto ah... buti na lang at binuhay.

[fre31ancer]

Hi! I need your advice. Our family has a farm in Laguna. We have some coconut trees and some other plants. We've tried planting rice before but the thing is, my parents are already old to tend the farm and they are not as enthusiastic to invest anything anymore. I want to make something out of our farm but I work here in the city. Any suggestions? Thanks.

[turmoil]

Hi! I need your advice. Our family has a farm in Laguna. We have some coconut trees and some other plants. We've tried planting rice before but the thing is, my parents are already old to tend the farm and they are not as enthusiastic to invest anything anymore. I want to make something out of our farm but I work here in the city. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Yes,I have a great suggestion for you. Its called hydroponics.
I just did a search and found a yahoo group run by Pinoy hydronponic farmers.
The are growing strawberries,ice burg lettuce,bell peppers.You name it.

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Phils-hydrofarming/

Other links that I have found useful.

http://www.agnet.org/library/article/pt2004008.html

http://edurink10.tripod.com/

http://edurink10.tripod.com/hydroideashobbyist/mixnutes.html

http://www.plastro.com/page.aspx?section=692

[phat_azz_TKD]

anybody here into vermiculture?

[ray_gun]

Interesting read. I wonder what happened to everyone in this thread? Any updates?

[joshua69]

@Amgonzalez - count me in..

kindly pm me ur mobile number.

Thanks