Let there be no doubt about it, I am a real farmer.
Even when I was working as a journalist in the Big City, my heart longed for the scent, scenery and serenity of the farm.
When I came home in 1993, I bought a 10-hectare farm in Kidapawan City where I planted over 1,000 Longkong Lanzones, Rubber Trees, Oil Palm, Coconut and lately, the EVIARC jackfruit variety called Abuyog Sweet.
I went into goat breeding and my Boer Goat Rocky and his son, Rocky Jr., were 2006 Champion of the NGSCP Buck and Young Buck Competition.
My other passion is the breeding of chicken, both for game and meat and egg.
In 2010, I started developing my own strain of free-range chicken because I don’t like eating broilers.
The new strain was called Manok Pinoy and I had it registered with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).
I neglected the breeding program when I was named Agriculture Secretary.
My new task now, however, has brought me back to where I find peace and joy – the farm.
Now, I have enough time on weekends to spend in the farm while working during the rest of the werk to support President Rody Duterte’s programs.
“Para akong pagong na itinapon sa ilog,” as the Pilipino idiom goes and I dedicate that to the people who wanted me out of the Department of Agriculture.
Now, I have the joy of serving the people while at the same time living and enjoying the life of a real farmer.
Here, I am sharing with my fellow backyard poultry raisers some practical innovations in the rearing of chicks.
I will share more farming techniques in future posts.
Happy farming!
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