Mlang Integrated Farming! ‘Plant Sorghum, Get Goats, Sheep & Backyard Chicken’

A Private Sector-initiated Integrated Farming System where farmers who join the Sorghum Production Program would be able to raise top quality Goats and Sheep, along with free-range Manok Pinoy, will be launched in my place of birth, Mlang, North Cotabato on Dec. 16.
The M’lang Integrated Farming System which I personally designed, aims to address all of the failures of government-initiated agricultural programs in the past, especially in Animal Disperal where 90% of animals given to farmers ended up in the slaughterhouse.
The program will introduce the following:
1. Crops adaptable to the climate and soil of the area based on actual assessment and Soil Analysis, namely Sorghum, Soybeans, Garlic and Onion;
2. Technical assistance and funding support at the initial stages of the projects to help the farmers establish their farms without going to loan sharks to finance their operations;
3. Assure farmers of a ready market with a Buy-Back Scheme and a guaranteed market price to avoid the past experiences where farmers were the mercy of the traders;
4. Farmers who will join the Sorghum Program will be able to raise Goats, Sheep and Free-Range Chicken, mainly the Manok Pinoy breed which I developed, under a Supervised Buy-Back Scheme where the Private Companies will retain ownership of the stocks and the farmers earning from the sale of the offsprings;
5. Farmers who will plant Sorghum will be taught how to prepare Silage from the Sorghum stalks and leaves left in the field after harvest and how to store the silage in anaerobic bags which could last for five years.
What makes this program unique is the fact that it will be initiated with the help of private companies which pledged to support my Family-Based Food Security Advocacy.
The main crop will be Sorghum, one of the top grains in the world which is now being promoted by the Southseas Agri-Aqua Ventures, Inc., a small company which former Senator Ping Lacson and I, along with several friends, formed last year.
A component of the Sorghum Program is the planting of Soybeans as a Rotational Crop, a leguminous plant which will contribute to the rehabilitation of the soil.
Garlic and Onion will also be introduced as side crops which would need only small areas but provide farmers with good income.
Soybeans, Garlic and Onion are crops which I am promoting with the help of another friend, German Panghulan of Vetmate Farma Corporation.
Goats and Sheep with outstanding genetics will come from a Multiplier Farm which I and my brother, retired Police Officer Patricio Piñol, along with Agricons IMTEX Company owned by another supporter, Vivian Aprosta, will establish in San Vicente, Makilala, Cotabato.
The free-range chicken Manok Pinoy, which I developed in 2010, will come from the Braveheart Farms which I and my children own in Kidapawan City.
Yesterday, in a meeting arranged by my younger brother, Mlang Vice Mayor Joselito Piñol, I met with barangay officials handling the agriculture programs in their communities to brief them on the Sorghum-based Mlang Integrated Farming System.
On Dec. 16, my 70th birthday, the model of an Integrated Farming System, which attempts to plug the holes in previous livelihood programs initiated by government, will be launched in the town where I was born.
This is my tribute to the people of the town, who had supported me and my family, as I sail into the sunset of my life.
This is Legacy.
#KungGustoMaramingParaan!
#GovernanceIsCommonSense!