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First trip to Jodini Organic Farm with SURE

May 17th, 2017

This reflection was originally written on July 13, 2017

When I think of sustainability and why I wanted to study it further at the university level, I just knew that I wanted to help promote the use of renewable energy in the world. With that in mind, I assumed that renewable energy could be used in a farm, but that it would only be operated at the small scale. Everything in my mind was large scale – impacting metropolis environments, changing infrastructures and foundations, and somehow implementing the use of renewable energy to those systems. I kept in mind countries like Norway and Denmark, who not only are at the peak of socioeconomic development in the world today but also implement such high levels of clean energy. When I was tasked to work on a farming project, I felt quite out of my comfort zone. In my preconceptions, I felt that farming was less about human interaction and more about plants, flora and fauna, ecosystems, biodiversity – the topics that bored me most at school. I wanted to work to affect people in the human-related aspects of sustainability, yet at this point did not understand that the agricultural industry is one of, if not the most, important pillar upholding those very humans today. Sustenance has definitely been taken for granted, superseded by manufacturing and the tertiary sector. Much like the approach to general talks of resource allocation, food security seems like an actual issue centuries away, with little impact on the world we live in today. But is it not this same mindset that has resulted in our current predicament with respect to climate change?

On the endless highway drive to Tarlac, I noticed countless fields growing wild with weeds, untouched and barren in terms of food production or any sort of efficient use. Diego, who was sat beside me, told me about the nation’s issues concerning land ownership and unfair pay towards farmers. It shocked and saddened me in the sense that those who had the power to affect change used it to their own benefit rather than to see their country prosper. Even at the agricultural level, one of the most conniving issues in the Philippines is prevalent – systems catered towards the rich getting richer and the poor staying poor.

Upon reaching Biohogs, I expected and was eager to learn about the farming system, how a farm really runs, especially one termed ‘organic’ which I have never really been able to pinpoint the real definition to (though apparently neither can the Filipino government, with respect to fauna). My official task was to interview people to form some sort of impact assessment on the community and also determine whether the farm could take on possible technological implementations that I could suggest. With ideas already swimming in my mind I was actually taken aback with how self-sufficient the farm already was, with practices such as using the meat to sustain the families situated on it, to using the rice hull for pig bedding, and growing leafy greens in areas such as kangkong to feed the pigs. The space was definitely being maximised more than I had anticipated. I saw that the construction of the digestor was already underway, and the pigs looked like they were lounging at a spa—it didn’t cross my mind once that ugly alternate versions of an almost paradise-like farming system could exist. The next step was to interview people. I was able to speak to Deepak, Tito Jerry, and his father Lolo Erning, and obtained three stark-different perspectives on the business and farming industry. Deepak shed light on the marketing and financial aspect of the business, Tito Jerry explained more about managing the operations occurring on the farm, and Lolo Erning surprisingly taught me about what was at the heart of everything occurring—it wasn’t money or personal gain, but rather bringing prosperity and unity to the community, placing a greater value on family, and the resulting happiness that can follow from simplicity and honest work.

Deepak’s inspirations for the organic farm stemmed from a desire to improve personal health, and he applied his business savvy to a system already in place and with the potential to flourish—in essence, he showed that all it takes is vision. He also spoke about how Filipinos are not very good at thinking long-term, and often opt for short-term instant gratification that ends up being a very poor investment in the future—a mindset that I really believe needs to change in order for concept such as Biohogs to become more widespread.

Tito Jerry was my second interview, and reveled to me that prior to Bioghogs, he was a civil engineer from Saudi Arabia. What I was most curious about was why? Why would such a man return to what I saw at that point as a very humble, simple, and less-sought-after lifestyle? His answer: life as an OFW is difficult – farming had been in my family since I was a child, and with new technologies now available, the possibilities for farming are endless. Further, he emphasised the family foundation that arose from and strengthened running the farm in the way that he did.

Tito Jerry’s father presented less of a technical evaluation of the farm but rather an endearing story of his days as a barangay captain, upon which it became clear to me that the farm’s philosophy on community-building rather than living life for one’s personal gain really came from him. He presented a hilarious but heartwarming tale of his younger days during which when a member of the community was in need—lacked rice, or had family sick at the hospital—and couldn’t afford it, he would lend them money and ask for nothing in return. At 75, he is a sprightly man who really is young at heart, and I do believe that this comes from his endearing personality and willingness to help others. And it is clear that it is not only in the fields that you reap what you sow—I see the same warmth and kindness in the rest of the people at the farm.

What I never expected to inspire me was this immense capacity for change, even at an older age—to have lived life perceiving the world in one way for decades, yet still being able to grow, and being so eager to learn and evolve. Crumbling is the perception that older always equals wiser, or that a significant change cannot be made in the world and instead we must find Band-Aid solutions to what already exists. I think this is the most valuable lesson this trip to Tarlac has taught me. When I was first researching the existence of a circular economy and the growing attempts to implement it, I was skeptical not because I felt it wasn’t possible, but because it felt like another concept only going to come into existence beyond my lifetime (I know, I know, I'm only twenty…). However, with increasing initiative I really believe that the steps to make the world sustainably interconnected are not as far as I once thought, if everyone would apply the same vision and forward thinking that those at this farm did. Seeing the way that the farm transcended simply growing and selling to the middleman, and rather becoming the middleman and adopting all the ‘higher-level’ work for themselves shows how self sufficient a system can be—and it is this, not the farming, that should be applied at a larger scale.

The most important assets that came to me at the end of this trip were perhaps the ones most obvious: the results of hard work, desire to better human and animal life, and the benefit of keeping a growth mindset. Developing the agricultural industry is a well-overdue task in Philippines, and running an organic farm in this country is actually as easily done as it is said—all it takes is initiative, and an open mind. Linkages that really stood out to me were those concerning the farm and the community—Deepak and Tito Jerry spoke of a large consumer base consisting of cancer patients, within the farm—the work between family and friends, as well as the welcoming atmosphere towards us interns, between the farm and the wider Filipino population—setting an example to better the state and conception of agriculture in the country, and at the global and conceptual scale, between agriculture and people and nature and earth—the importance of balance and respect in that what we obtain, or the care we are given from the earth must also be reciprocated. Large-scale farming is definitely cheaper, but it is obviously also perpetuating a lack of care for the environment and earth, and will undoubtedly result in our extinction in the long term. The last sort of ‘barrier’ that frequently came up in conversation was just the lack of support from the government. This came in many forms, including refusal to cooperate, and downright lack of knowledge and structure. Through Deepak’s different approaches to different branches of the government, I could see that there really isn’t a unanimous system adopted by the entire government, and that localities prioritise differently than the wider nation. It was quite interesting to hear that though there is legislation on organic plants, there is none whatsoever on organic animals, thus putting the piggery in somewhat of a grey area in terms of its certification as organic on the governmental scale. I think that clear and public discourse between the actual farmers—not those who handle them—and those involved in policy-making could really help establish clearer boundaries for farming in the Philippines and perhaps also show people that with the support of the government (and even now, without it) there are possibilities in agriculture beyond what could have been imagined twenty or even ten years ago.

Of course, an overnight trip to an well-managed farm does not automatically make me an expert and I cannot ever hope to say that I know everything about how a farm should be run now; however, I can say that this experience has taught me so much about the benefits of mere willingness to grow, and the result of putting time and effort into seeing a plan grow into fruition. The stark difference that set Biohogs apart from other farms was not the land or the farming conditions, but really the people and their mindsets, which never seemed to stagnate. My biggest question is really how to make this mindset infectious – for everyone to realise and understand the value of farming, the agricultural industry, and sustainable small-scale farming. Tito Joey mentioned that perceptions towards agriculture are already improving in their area, and I want this mindset to expand further. Rural areas are never going to develop if they are victim to brain drain and rural-urban migration. In terms of other applications, perhaps this small-scale thinking could be applied to other businesses in Philippines wherein the nation acts as the producer, and it is again the middleman who enjoys the actual spoils—in this case, as done by Biohogs, Philippines also absorbs that middleman role.