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Philippine Panorama, Sunday April
16, 2000 |
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Farmers in a Hurry |
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by Zac B. Sarian |
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In this game called farming, there are many kinds of
player. One kind is what we would like to call
farmer in a hurry. One of them just contacted us for
advice last week.
The fellow just retired from his business of
distribution medical equipment. He apparently has
accumulated a comfortable nest egg and thinks he
would like to lead a life that's closer to Mother
Nature.
He realizes, though, that time is no longer on his
side. What he wants is to have a farm that could be
productive within the shortest possible time. What
are the possibilities? |
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Well, we
told him, if you have the money, buy a farm that is already
developed. There are such farms available if you persist or
try hard to really look for one. Just like our friend, Bert
Bravo, who bought a one-hectare property in Negros Oriental
developed by a retired lady who planted it to tropical
lychee. The last time we talked to Bert, he is happy about
his farm. He has already harvested fruits from the lychee
trees that were just starting to fruit when he bought the
property.
Usually, there are farms that are developed for sale.
Of course, they are much more expensive than raw land. But
the advantage is that they already productive, and the buyer
will immediately enjoy the produce from the farm.
We know of a widow who sometime ago was looking for a
buyer of the farm that was left by her husband. The
seven-hectare farm, she said, is too big for her to manage.
And since not one of her children is interested to take
charge because they have their own progressive lives to
manage, she thought it would be much better to sell the
property.
If she did not sell the farm, the fruit trees would
just deteriorate and become unproductive. Better to sell it
now that the plants are still in good shape.
It is usually under such situations where the one
looking for a farm to buy can strike a bargain.
Of course, there are people who already have many idle
properties and don't have to look for farms to buy. Just
like a 70-year-old businessman engaged in the export of
garments. His brother was telling us that he has very
accessible properties in different towns in Laguna and
Batangas. That's because every time he made a big big amount
from his garment business, he would invest the money in real
estate.
The only problem is that he did not really do much
about his properties. They remain undeveloped to this day.
One such property is a two-hectare coconut plantation in
Laguna with nothing but a few very old trees that have not
been giving him any income all these years.
Now this businessman whose retirement was long overdue
came to us one Saturday asking what he could to make his
neglected coconut plantation productive. He is already
giving the garment business to his children to manage.
Well, we told him he should convert his two-hectare
farm into an orchard of well selected fruit trees. There are
many exotic fruit trees that will thrive in San Pablo where
his property is located.
One of them is rambutan. There are many new varieties
which are of excellent eating quality like the Rongrein from
Thailand, the R162 from Malaysia Jitlee from Singapore, the
R-5 which was a first prize winner in a fruit search in 1996
the old Maharlika variety, the Sakay variety and some
others.
For a gentleman farmer in a hurry like him, we also
suggested that he plant not the newly grafted trees but
rather the big ones that will bear fruit in just one year
after planting. There are such planting materials available.
The trees we planted in our own farm supplied by Bernie
Dizon who has a nursery and demo farm at the Central Luzon
State University, for instance, started to fruit in just
seven months from planting. Today, these same trees which
were planted one and a half years ago are again profusely
flowering.
The same is true with durian. If you want to have trees
that will bear fruit in two or three years after planting,
you can plant the big planting materials. The durian which
were already five years old in plastic container when they
were planted in our farm are already starting to flower.
Another fruit tree that will bear fruit in a year or
two is the marcotted Malaysian macopa. This has maroon
fruits that are big, delicious and seedless.
One other fruit tree that will bear fruit within a few
years is the grafted mangosteen. This is best grown in shady
areas such as under coconut trees or between durian trees.
The grafted plants are low-growing and are therefore easy to
manage. Grafted trees that are just three feet tall will
already be fruitful.
So you see, it is not really too late to get into fruit
farming. There are ways you can make your fruit farm
productive almost immediately. |
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