MANILA, Philippines — One of the most-attended Agri-Kapihan sessions was held last Saturday, January 14, at the experimental farm of Known-You Philippines in Carmen, Rosales, Pangasinan.

More than 200 farming enthusiasts coming from various parts of the country attended the Techno Forum and Agri-Kapihan in Pangasinan under the initiative of Harbest Agribusiness Corporation heade d by Toto Barcelona.

The attendees came from as far as Batac, Ilocos Norte in the North, represented by Tony Arcangel and his wife Doris. They are the pioneers in commercializing various sweet sorghum products. A big group came from Metro Manila consisting of members of a farm tour organized by AANI, the company that runs weekend markets and conducts technology transfer activities.

Former Senator Leticia Shahani, a native Pangasinense, was also there. A long-time diplomat holding high positions and a senator for several terms, she says she has retired from politics. She is now a hands-on lady farmer, taking care of 15 murrah buffaloes.

Dr. Jocelyn Eusebio was also a conspicuous attendee. She is the director of the Crops Research Division of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development based in Los Banos, Laguna. Also based in Laguna are the Costales couple, Ronald and Josephine, who run a most successful organic farm in Majayjay.

We interviewed Rolly Benosa in front of the jampacked audience. We wanted him to tell his experience in growing Cherry Tomato in his farm in Sison, Pangasinan. As we have earlier written in a previous column, Cherry Tomato is a profitable crop to grow in Taiwan.

Cherry Tomato is a little known crop in the Philippines. Not many farmers are planting this variety and it is not commonly served at home and in restaurants, except in a few upscale hotels. Rolly plants the Amber variety which is bright red like grapes. He sells his harvest at P80 per kilo even if the ordinary tomato variety is selling at only P30 or P40 per kilo. Rolly says that the price can even go up to more than a hundred pesos per kilo, especially when it is retailed.

While Rolly says that it is profitable to grow Cherry Tomato, he cautions that before one gets into this business, he should study very well the cultural requirements of this kind of tomato. Cherry tomato, he said, was introduced to him by Harbest Agribusiness which distributes Known-You seeds in the Philippines and conducts training for interested vegetable growers. Most Cherry Tomato varieties grow tall because they are indeterminate. So they have to be trellised.

Rolly emphasizes that different varieties have different adaptability as to the season of planting. So one has to be familiar with the right time of planting for every variety. Rolly advised the attendees to attend every available seminar and training on vegetable production because there are always new things to be learned. He has already attended three training sessions conducted by Harbest Agribusiness.

Rolly has been planting 500 square meters to Cherry Tomato but he is expected to expand the area because one of his buyers is said to be needing about 800 kilos per week. Actually, there are five of them in Sison who are planting Cherry Tomato today.

Aside from Cherry Tomato, Rolly grows Japanese cucumber. This is a variety with long slender fruits. He sells his harvest to a buyer in Baguio. This cucumber is well liked by Japanese and Korean buyers who make them into pickles that they serve in their restaurants.

In the Techno Forum segment, Julius Barcelona expounded on the many uses of EM or Effective Microorganisms. The EM is useful in banishing foul odor in piggeries and other livestock farms. It is used in hastening decomposition of compost materials. It is also used in concoctions to repel insects. In fisheries, it is used to control pollution. It is also useful in cleaning kitchen and toilets in the home.

One of the reasons why there were so many attendees at the Agri-Kapihan was that they were also interested to see the more than 500 varieties of vegetables, melons and sweet corn being field-tested at the four-hectare experimental farm of the new company called Known-You Philippines, a joint venture of Known-You of Taiwan and Toto Barcelona’s Harbest Agribusiness.

Among the interesting plants that were in fruit are the squash hybrids that come in unusual colors such as pure white, bright orange and other colors. There are also very fruitful eggplants, sweet and hot peppers, honeydew melon, watermelon, Red Lady papaya, sweet corn that can be eaten even without cooking, cucumber, Cherry Tomato and many others.

On February 4, most of the fruits in the demo farm will be harvestable so a Harvest Festival will be conducted.

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RABBIT & PASTURED CHICKEN SEMINAR – A seminar on rabbit production and pastured chicken will be held on Saturday, February 4 at the PRRM conference room, 56 Mother Ignacia corner Lazcano Sts., Quezon City. Dante Delima will handle rabbit production while Dr. Rey Itchon will tackle pastured chicken growing.

The seminar is under the auspices of Spread Organic Agriculture in the Philippines (SOAP). For more info, email: spreadorganicagriculture@yahoo.com.

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HORTICULTURE 2012 – Dory S. Bernabe is inviting garden aficionados to attend the annual garden show of the Philippine Horticultural Society that will be held on January 26 to February 6 at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City.

Bernabe is the co-chairperson of Horticultue 2012 where visitors will be able to witness the beautiful landscape booths featuring the beautifully grown foliage and flowering ornamental plants. There will be daily seminars on timely gardening topics.

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