Bright, Beautiful, Beguiling Picture Of PH Agriculture

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What you’re looking at is the Reality – as well as the Promise – of not only Soybean Farming in Surigao in far away Mindanao but also its radiating effects to all of Agriculture in the Philippines! Not obvious. You have to see more; you have to learn more. (PH map from Wikipedia[1])

An Agriculturist, a science writer of 35 years and a wide reader, I myself did not know that distant Surigao produces more than half of the country’s supply of soybeans, as according to Executive Director Abel James Monteagudo of Caraga Region (Region 13) of the Department of Agriculture, DA, news brought to us by Alexander Lopez (24 July 2020, “Mechanization Brings Hope To Surigao Sur Soybean Farmers[2],” PNA).

Mr Monteagudo said, “Even before, with their not so advanced way, soybean farmers in Surigao del Sur already (produced) more than half of the country’s soybean supply.” Months before mechanization, Surigao soybean farmers were already producing more than 50% of the PH supply – I can explain it not by size of science but by size of area: Small and Big. Surigao del Sur has been the biggest PH soybean producer since 1980.

Mr Monteagudo said the DA-supplied machinery “will help soybean farmers produce fast with less cost and better quality of farm produce.” With farm equipment, you cannot hurry up the natural growth of soybeans but can increase economies of scale and come up with cleaner beans with least sweat.

In November 2019, the Meme Agricultural Farmers Association, MAGFA, in the town of Tago, received from DA Caraga a water pump, multi-grain thresher (above image), and sorting machine. MAGFA Chair is Annabelle Dela Fuente Loja. The group has 100 hectares devoted to soybeans, which go into a wide variety of human and animal foods.

 “Soybean thrives well especially here in our Barangay, in Layug, Tago; that is why we have been planting this crop for a long time now,” Miss Loja said. With the new machinery from the DA, now they realize that their previous ways of farming were “time-consuming and labor-intensive.” With modern farming technology, you need less human effort and time spent and yet produce more with higher quality than before.

A member of MAGFA, Joel Ochavillo talked about another kind of assistance their group was getting from Caraga Region 3: Marketing. DA Caraga has helped MAGFA bring up the selling price of their soybean from P20/kilo to P30/kilo in Davao City. That is a wild, welcome jump of 50% in gross income! A doubling success.

Overall, MAGFA Chair Miss Loja says:

Many farmers are now encouraged to venture into soybean farming after seeing the improvements we experienced with the help of DA-13 through mechanization and support in marketing.

Mr Lopez’ good news on the “doubling success” of soybean farming of Surigao del Sur emphasizes the value of modern technology less and the value of marketing more. Unless marketing of produce is contracted for in advance, farmers always stand to lose in the wild universe of marketing.

Marvelous Science must be matched with Farmer-Friendly Marketing!@517


[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines

[2]https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1109958


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