Farm tours are increasingly becoming popular for a number of good reasons. One reason is that participants can see first hand how new technologies are being adopted in the farms that are visited.
This Sunday, March 7, Agri-Aqua Network International (AANI) will conduct a farm tour that will visit two farms in Teresa, Rizal. One destination will be the St. Martha Farm operated by former PNP Deputy Director General Jewel Canson and his wife Cecile. There, the tour participants will see the Pangasius hatchery, the breeders as well as the grow out operation.

General Canson will discuss the excellent money-making potentials of growing Pangasius as a commercial venture. Pangasius is a fast-growing fish that is very hardy and can be cultured in freshwater ponds like those being used for catfish and tilapia.

Attendees will also see the organic vegetable garden of Mrs. Canson. The Cansons also have a big poultry contract breeding operation with some 70,000 layers.

The other tour destination will be the Teresa Orchard & Nursery where superior exotic fruit trees are being propagated. These include new pummelo varieties from Vietnam and Thailand, new makopa also from Thailand, imported mangoes, durian, rambutan, abiu, variegated orange, latexless jackfruit and many others.

Of interest is how a custard apple tree (a relative of atis) is being made to fruit off-season. The tree was totally defoliated on December 10 last year. As of this writing, more than 30 fruits have emerged. The fruits are expected to mature by May or early June. The attendees will also be able to see the early flowering the rambutan trees whose fruits will be ready for harvest in early June.

One new project is a showcase of high-value vegetables intercropped with young fruit trees. By the way, technicians of Allied Botanical Corporation like Cholo Raymundo, Dorry Fadriquela and Rowena Bienes will be there to give pointers on high-value vegetable production.