Big companies with a well-focused Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) could transform the lives of poor farmers, making them financially independent and proud of their achievement.

Attending field days is always rewarding, educational and enjoyable. Just like our visit to the experimental farm of Allied Botanical Corporation in Tayug, Pangasinan during their field day on February 21.

A special fertilizer that has been proven to more than double the yield of sugarcane and fruit trees also does wonders on Burley tobacco. This is the Power Grower Combo, a plant growth promotant formulated by Alfonso G. Puyat.

Time and time again, plant aficionados come to us complaining about the poor quality of their fruit harvest. 

A reforestation program that was initially intended to help preserve forestry resources that are being utilized by tobacco farmers for curing tobacco leaves has not only sustained the fuelwood requirements of the tobacco industry, it has also helped tobacco farmers, through cooperatives, earn additional income while doing their share in caring for the environment.

Producing hybrid papaya seeds could be a big business for seed companies if their plant breeders could develop varieties with the color and taste preferred by the target markets, are productive and tolerant to pests, diseases and other stresses.

Kundol or wax gourd is an old fruit vegetable in the Philippines but it remains a very minor and neglected crop. 

The SM Foundation is well known for its “Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan” Farmers Training Program that it started in Bacolod City five years ago and is now undertaken all over the country. This is the 12-week training program for the production of high-value vegetables and other crops.

The seed company that started in the Philippines 30 years ago is poised to conquer the tropical world with its high-yielding vegetable seeds that have many other desirable characteristics.

Foreign investors, particularly OFWs or overseas Filipino workers, are getting interested in partnering with Ronald Costales of the Costales Nature Farms in Majayjay, Laguna.

It is always a rewarding experience to visit farms that are unique in their own way. 

The February issue of Agriculture Magazine is now off the press, containing many feature stories that inspire and motivate readers to pursue their selected projects.

The Philippines Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) will host a patent library to encourage more innovation in rice science and development following a memorandum of agreement (MOA) it recently signed with the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP Philippines) 

 Not many people may realize it, but garden shows also contribute to more jobs and livelihood in the cities as well as in the countryside. 

Paraoakan is becoming the choice of native chicken raisers.

Nuclear applications can benefit agriculture by reducing water and nutrient losses by almost 25 percent without adversely affecting the overall yield of rice and corn, the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) said. 

One very successful program that is helping farmers become more entrepreneurial is the Kabalikat Sa Kabuhayan training program for farmers to grow vegetables and other high-value crops (watermelon, honeydew, sweet corn) that was started about five years ago in Bacolod and is being expanded aggressively.

The Agri-Kapihan, the long-running forum for farming enthusiasts, has a new home. This is the AANI Urban Farm at the Kingsville Court in Antipolo City.

Farm tours can be very educational for those who are interested in farming or gardening, whether it is just a backyard garden or an honest-to-goodness business enterprise.

Recently we had the good fortune of joining a dinner with Dr. William Dar, the director general of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad, India.