New possibilities with Super Napier

by Zac Sarian An organic farming entrepreneur is excited about the new possibilities with the Pakchong 1, the Super Napier that was developed by Dr. Krailas Kyiothong of Thailand. The planting materials of this fast-growing and highly nutritious grass are now available in the Philippines and that’s what excites fellows with entrepreneurial mindset. One guy who is most excited is Ronald Costales of the Costales Nature Farms in Majayjay, Laguna. Why? BIG PLANS WITH SUPER NAPIER BIG PLANS WITH SUPER NAPIER — Ronald Costales has big plans with Pakchong 1, the so-called Super Napier, which he has acquired lately. He intends to formulate fermented feeds out of Super Napure leaves and stems for feeding to organic pigs and chickens. He is also eyeing extracts from Super Napier as organic foliar fertilizer because this fast-growing grass contains 17 to 18 percent crude protein. Photo shows Costales with 10-days old Super Napier which he intercropped with Frillice lettuce to maximize production from precious farm space. He believes that with the super grass that contains 17 to 18 percent crude protein, it could significantly boost organic pig production not only for himself but also for other ordinary pig raisers. He said that Jess Domingo of Alfonso Lista, Ifugao, has already proven that growing organic hogs with fermented feeds that include even chopped water hyacinth can be profitable. Domingo has proven that he can make a profit of P5,550 per head of organically grown hogs in a growing period of 5.5 to 6 months during which the piglet will attain a weight of 90 kilos. An engineer who is adept at figures, Ronald has been making his own computations of feed formulations for fatteners, brood sow and piglets. He has come up with figures showing how much of Super Napier can substitute the costly soya and fish meal in formulated feeds. He is also now experimenting in making silage out of napier tops with the addition of molasses and effective microorganisms (EM). King Ranch has supplied him some napier tops. This early, Ronald is crafting schemes that could benefit not only himself but also other farmers who don’t have access to essential inputs in raising organic pigs. So he is going to grow Super Napier in big scale and make use of the biomass to produce fermented pig feed for sale to other farmers. JOINT VENTURE — One possibility is to have a joint venture with selected farmers. The farmer will be trained on the basics of raising organic pigs. The farmer will put up his own hog house similar to the system used by Ronald. One scheme could be this way. The farmer provides the hog house and labor. Ronald, on the other hand, provides the piglets with value indicated, and the feeds with the value also indicated. After the growing period of 5.5 to 6 months and the piglet has attained 90 kilos or thereabouts, Ronald will buy the fattened pig at the prevailing price in the market. From the total proceeds, the value of the piglet and the feeds is deducted. The remainder is then shared equally by Ronald and the farmer. MORE VARIANTS — Other variants are also possible. For instance, the farmer can put up his own housing, buy his own piglets and also buys the fermented feeds from Ronald. At harvest time, the farmer can sell his fattened hog to Ronald or to some other buyers. He is free to sell to any buyer. Farmers can also undergo training in organic hog production, including formulation of feeds. That way they can make additional profits for themselves if they formulate their own feeds. One advantage that Ronald will get from the increased interest in organic hog production is that he will be assured of adequate supply of organic pork that he can sell to his fast growing clients for organic farm produce in Metro Manila. ORGANIC CHICKENS, TOO — Ronald is also into the raising of organic eggs and poultry meat. And he is also excited in formulating fermented Super Napier for feeding his chickens. Currently, he raises a lot of native chickens. At the same time, he is producing the Sasso-type broilers and layers which he supplies to a well known distributor of organic foods and wellness products in Metro Manila. ORGANIC FOLIAR FERTILIZER, TOO — Ronald also sees the possibility of producing Super Napier extracts which will be used as fertilizer for his salad green crops like lettuce, arugula, French beans, Japanese cucumber and culinary herbs. Oh yes, there are a lot of possibilities with the Super Napier. And the above are just for organic farming. **** **** ****

Palm oil mill spurs planting in Carmen town

by Zac Sarian Processing plants of whatever agricultural commodity will likely encourage farmers to plant and produce the raw materials needed by that factory. That is true with the palm oil factory that is under final construction in Carmen, North Cotabato. The oil mill is the Univanich Carmen Palm Oil Corporation, a joint venture of Thailand’s biggest oil palm company, Univanich, and local investors with Mrs. Noemi Taliño as company chairman. Jerry Taray, one of the investors and a grower and nursery operator himself, revealed that the new oil mill has been encouraging farmers in Carmen to go into oil palm farming. Before the mill was started to be set up, very few of the small farmers dared to plant this industrial crop because they knew they will have a hard time bringing their harvests to distant factories. It would be very expensive for them. SPROUTED SUPER NAPIER IN TERESA SPROUTED SUPER NAPIER IN TERESA – Farmers who are looking for just a few planting materials of Pakchong 1, the so-called Super Napier, can secure them at the Sarian Farm in Teresa, Rizal. This is to meet the clamor of small-time growers who cannot afford to buy the big volume usually required by commercial suppliers. Pakchong 1 is the fast-growing grass developed by Dr. Krailas Kyiothong of Thailand which is also very nutritious. It is relished by farm animals and fish like goats, rabbits, cattle, carabaos, pigs, chickens and even tilapia. An organic coconut farmer is going to shred the grass for mulching his coconut trees. And he will also use the dried biomass as fuel for cooking his coco sugar. Photo shows the sprouted Pakchong 1 in Teresa, Rizal. On the part of the municipal government, it has come up with its own scheme of supporting the interested farmers from Carmen. It has come up with a “plant now pay later” scheme depending on its savings and available development funds. The program calls for the financing of the planting materials which could amount to P30,000 per hectare. The provincial government of North Cotabato headed by Gov. Lala T. Mendoza, has also its own “plant now pay later” scheme with a yearly budget of P20 million. This can finance the planting of 700 hectares. Some private individuals also have their own financial schemes to help the small-scale farmers who don’t have enough capital. Jerry Taray has his own project of helping Muslim farmers by supplying the planting materials, with the farmers paying for one half of the cost. For instance, the farmer will pay P15,000 for half of the seedlings needed per hectare. The other P15,000 is loan from Jerry, payable with the proceeds from oil milling at the Univanich Carmen oil mill later. Jerry said he has already helped farmers to plant 360 hectares under his scheme. He explained that he wants to help the Muslim farmers so they can also benefit from the construction of the oil mill in Carmen. This way, they could improve their economic status and be part of the inclusive growth that the government has been espousing. Jerry says that oil palm farming could be the key to lift the small farmers from the poverty level. It is ideal for small farmers because once the plantation has been established, there is very minimal labor that is needed to maintain the plantation. The family members can as well supply the labor. The waiting period for the first harvest is just about three years from planting, according to Jerry. Harvesting is continuous and not seasonal, hence the cash flow is constant. From one hectare, Jerry said, a farmer can have a monthly net income of P6,000 to P15,000. If he has two hectares, then he will have P12,000 to P30,000 net income per month. That’s already way above the poverty level. The good thing about oil palm farming is that production could continue for many years. Dr. Pablito P. Pamplona, one of the advocates of oil palm farming for smallhold farmers has written in the July issue of Agriculture Magazine about a very good example of a once-poor Muslim farmer who became rich by growing oil palm. He is Jose Manangka Sagadan of Mlang, North Cotabato. Dr. Pamplona reported that before 2002, Sagadan could hardly meet the needs of his big family. He had to borrow money so his eldest daughter could enter college. In three years from 2000 to 2003, Sagadan was able to plant 8 hectares to oil palm under the “plant now pay later” scheme. And because of the good income from oil palm, he did not have to borrow money anymore to send his five younger children to college. After his five children finished college, Mr. Sagadan used his income from oil palm to build his dream house, bought a brand-new pickup truck, and used part of his income to lease land to expand his plantation. His production area for oil palm now totals over 20 hectares and 16 are already productive, according to Dr. Pamplona. **** **** **** PHILMECH AT AGRILINK — The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) will showcase the results of its latest high-impact research and development projects at the forthcoming Agrilink 2014 which will be held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City from October 9 to 11. Some of the innovations include the tractor-mounted mini-rice combine harvester, rice transplanter, mechanical seeder, compact corn mill, coco water pasteurizer, essential oil extractor and cassava digger. PhilMech’s executive director, Engr. Rex Bingabing, said there are big challenges for our agricultural sector such as climate change, food security through self-sufficiency, the need for globally competitive products and addressing the declining number of farmers. He said that agricultural mechanization can help improve production yield, reduce postharvest losses and increase the volume of agricultural produce for consumption. Bingabing said that proper use of postharvest facilities like dryers and milling will greatly improve the quality of the products. Agricultural mechanization also reduces production time and required labor as well as significantly reduce production costs.