MANILA, Philippines -- It is heartening to note that many agribusiness firms are expanding their operations and are creating new jobs for our farmers, technicians and traders.

Earlier, we featured Marigold Manufacturing Corporation that makes the Mama Sita brand of spices, sauces and condiment mixes. It is putting up new processing facilities that will enable it to quadruple its manufacturing capacity. Meaning, it will need more raw materials from farmers, including achuete, sour tamarind, sour guava, hot pepper, black pepper, onion and others.

Now comes Harbest Agribusiness whose main products in the past have been the hybrid Known- You Seeds from Taiwan, including melons and watermelons, pepper, tomatoes, eggplant, sweet corn and many others. Lately it also went into the sale of small tractors that are used in preparing the land for vegetable crops. The small tractors are very handy and efficient in preparing the soil for planting vegetables.

The latest agricultural inputs that Harbest Agribusiness is introducing in the local market are the drip and fertigation equipment from the Jain Irrigation Systems in Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India. The first container load of the equipment is now on the way.

Recently, we joined Toto Barcelona, the bossman of Harbest Agribusiness, in visiting the facilities of the Jain Group which is the second biggest irrigation company in the world, next to Netafim of Israel.

After seeing the wonderful results of drip irrigation in India, Toto decided right away to introduce the system in the Philippines. Fertigation (fertilizer is included in the drip irrigation) has been working wonders in Indian farms where water is scarce during most parts of the year. In banana, for instance, tissue-cultured bananas that are fertigated are producing an average of 120 tons per hectare. Before fertigation, the yield was only 30 tons per hectare.

Drip irrigation is also working wonders in cotton, sugarcane, fruit trees, pepper, tomato, sugarcane, papaya, melons and watermelons, garlic and many others. It is also being introduced in rice production and the results are promising.

Now, Toto is recruiting agriculture graduates that will form his company’s Food Team Philippines. He is recruiting males below 30 years old who are fairly fluent in spoken and written English as well as the local dialect where they will be posted.

The applicants will undergo a six-month hands-on apprenticeship at the company’s training farm. During the apprenticeship, the trainee will be refunded for travel expenses and will also be provided with board and lodging plus living allowance. After the apprenticeship, the trainee will be employed full time. Applications may be sent by email to harbest@ harbest.com.ph.

Natural Farming Seminar – The Philippines for Natural Farming Inc. will conduct a two-day training on Natural Farming Systems on August 19 and 20 (Friday and Saturday) at the Agribusiness Center of the Department of Agriculture in Quezon City. Training will focus on natural fertilizers and pesticides and their application to crops and animals (hogs, chickens, ducks and goats). For plants and crops, the training will focus on land preparation, seed selection and treatment, proper planting and application of natural fertilizers and pesticides. It will also include preparation and use of compost and vermicast. For livestock and poultry, the focus will be on appropriate housing, nutrition, bedding for pigs and chickens, natural feeds and medication. The training will be conducted by Teresa Saniano of Earthkeepers and Dante Delima, both authors of the “Likasaka Manual.

For details go to http://solrayablogspot.com.