Thirty members of the Pasto Agrarian Reform Cooperative from Barangay Magticol, Toboso town in Negros Occidental earned a gross income of P16,920 for their harvest of 211 kilograms of ampalaya or bitter gourd.
The venture is under the Vegetable Production Project of the Department of Agriculture–Special Area for Agricultural Development program, and the group cultivated an 800-square meter communal farm.
Joel Aspera, president of PARC, expressed his gratitude to the program implementation in Toboso, adding that it did not only give them the agricultural assistance they needed but also help them earn extra income to support their families’ daily needs.
“We are very thankful to the SAAD Program. In our farm back then, we spend money buying seeds, fertilizer and farm tools. Right now, we are able to save money because of the vegetable project that SAAD gave,” he said in a press release from SAAD. “Since we are able to minimize our expenses, we were able to increase our capital for rolling and our income was really okay.”
Aspera also thanked SAAD for the capacity-building and technical training on vegetable production and enterprise development provided to the Pasto farmers. The training provided a refresher on farm practices to ensure efficient and independent food production.
Ampalaya, of the Cucurbitaceae family, is susceptible to soil-borne diseases with incidence and severity aggravated by excess soil moisture.
To address this problem, the Pasto farmers installed low-cost protective structures made of bamboos. They also practiced pruning unproductive lateral vines which increased their yield, and regularly remove damaged and deformed fruits while still young to prevent nutrient competition.
Aspera said fruit fly is the most destructive pest of Ampalaya and bacterial wilt is its most destructive disease. He said they use attractants and immediately wrapped the developing fruit to protect it from the insect, adding that sanitation or removing diseased or damaged plant or its parts and burying them also help.
Transporting their produce to the town market also became a challenge for PARC. Majority of the locals need to traverse long stretches of rugged roads just to get to the Poblacion, that is approximately 60 kilometers from Barangay Magticol.
A “habal-habal” drive is available but farmers have to pay a round-trip fare of 200 and an additional fare of P100 for their agricultural products. For now, the group sells their ampalaya to their community and neighboring sitios and barangays.
The group is aiming to expand their market linkages in the town proper to access more buyers. Citing initial talks with other members of their cooperative, Aspera said they will buy a vehicle which would transport their produce to the market.
They also intend to venture into value-adding products, such as pickled vegetables, which they learned from the enterprise development training in October.
Next month, the farmers expect to harvest squash and eggplant from their vegetable garden. — NND
