Two women farmers in Batac City leading the way in integrated farming in the province recently got their accreditation from the Agriculture Training Institute, in partnership with the city government of Batac.

In an interview, Bernadeth Saguiguit Adones of Adones Integrated Farm in Barangay Payao and Jenny Onera of Onera Integrated Farm in Barangay Quiom vowed to share their best practices in integrated farming to inspire fellow farmers to improve their way of life.

“Thank you to the city government of Batac for recognizing us. From here, we will do our part and let our actions speak louder than any promises,” Adones said on Thursday.

Adones and Onera Integrated Farms cater to interested farmers, students, agro-entrepreneurs, and farm enthusiasts and let them avail themselves of free hands-on training on their best practices in agriculture.

The Adones Integrated Farm features an intercrop demonstration farm for coconut and cacao as well as raising free-range chicken, peking ducks, and native ducks.

To cut costs on feeds, the Adones farm is promoting the use of organic feeds such as the production of Azolla, and planting of madre de aqua, Napier varieties, sitarya, and sweet sorghum instead of buying commercial feeds for livestock.

Meanwhile, the Onera farm is also engaged in cattle breeding. Starting with two heifers, the Onera couple who previously worked in the United Arab Emirates as overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) grew and multiplied their cows into what it is now.

Onera said they started the production and trading of rice and corn in 2018, but operations halted in 2020 due to the pandemic. Onera then decided to start breeding cattle instead.

“With determination, we explored cattle breeding. Thank God, the outcome was indeed fulfilling. We have food to eat, we have clothes to wear and we have our old family house to sleep in. Most importantly, life must go on with our beautiful cows,” she said.

Jenny said the cows are fed with locally sourced silage until they are ready for disposal. With simple facilities and adequate feedstuff, cattle farming provided extra income for them especially so that they are into breeding.

Aside from cattle breeding, the Onera farm is also into sustainable farming where they maintain vast rice and corn fields, a fish pond, a vegetable garden as well as a coconut and mango plantation. (PNA)