Paving The Way! Mine Isn’t Just Farming; It’s Actually Trailblazing

After spending two days in the highlands of Alamada, Cotabato for the Sorghum and Soybeans Projects, I was back in the lowlands yesterday to visit the Soybeans I planted in a borrowed piece of land in New Esperanza, Mlang.
The Manchuria White Soybeans planted in a property owned by the North Cotabato Palm Oil Corp. headed by my brother, Col. Pat Piñol, are starting to bloom, 45 days after the seeds were planted.
Planting new crops like Soybeans and Sorghum in this country is just like entering a thick forest without any trail or direction or similar to hitting a punching bag blindfolded.
There are no established planting, fertilization and pest management protocols for both crops under Philippine conditions.
I am learning things by doing it and it has been a very expensive learning process for me because lessons came at a very high cost.
Those who work with me in these projects have recorded everything so that at the end of the period of trials, we would have established the protocols and protect other farmers from committing the same mistake.
Yesterday, I set the parameters of an area where the Soybeans are growing well so that I will be able to establish the average yield of Soybeans in the lowlands.
I will do the same for the Soybeans farms in the highlands of Alamada to determine whether soil type, elevation, moisture and climate would affect the growth and productivity of the crop.
Already, I am learning that the pests which attack Soybeans in the lowlands like Cutters and Diamondback Moths are the same infestation in the highlands.
Since I started these trailblazing programs, I have not made money yet and I am feeling the financial strain.
But thanks to the income I generate from my farm nursery and chicken and the support of friends, I am able to sustain the operations.
I am eternally indebted to friends and supporters who have traveled this road with me and supported my advocacies.
In my mind is the same thinking which made farmers before me persevere:
“Farming is like swimming against a strong current. You cannot quit, you have to continue kicking your legs and stretching your arms or you will surely drown.”

#FarmersNeverGiveUp!