There’s more to farming than just growing crops. Farming is a business and every farmer should think like an entrepreneur if they want to succeed. This is what Ramon “Mon” Peñalosa, Jr. is advocating to farmers and would-be farmers who visit Peñalosa Farms, a sprawling 4,000 sq.m. integrated farm in Victorias City, Negros Occidental.
Peñalosa Farms: A Micro Farm Business Model
Peñalosa Farms is located right at the center of Victorias City, behind a shopping mall. The farm produces certified organic fruits, vegetables and herbs. Peñalosa Farms is an integrated farm thus livestock is part and parcel of the business model. Even with their hogs and chickens, there is no foul odor coming from their farm. Mon uses probiotic feeds to attain optimum growth for his pigs. The pork, chicken and eggs that he produce are hormone and antibiotic-free.
Aside from the farm products, Peñalosa Farms is a destination for farm tourism and training. Guests are often welcomed with native delicacies and a 5-herb tea which contains Ashitaba for improved blood circulation, Taheebo the fat metabolizer, Gotukola the memory enhancer, Peppermint the breath freshener and Calamansi for Vitamin C. These herbs are all grown at Peñalosa Farms.
The main house was designed by Mon’s son, Architect Andrew Penalosa, and was made from used materials. The 4-storey house was now turned into a hostel to accommodate homestay guests who are usually farmers attending agri-preneurship training at the farm.
The house is surrounded by organic herbs and vegetables which are either planted in plots or in containers. PET bottles and other used materials are recycled as planters for vertical gardens. Very simple solutions for those who want to grow vegetables but have limited space.
Ramon Peñalosa: A Farmer Scientist
Mon is a Magsasaka-Syentista (Farmer Scientist) who believes that there is no unproductive soil, only unproductive farmer. He himself was an accidental farmer. The property where Peñalosa Farms is located used to be the garage of the family-owned bus transport business. When their business closed down and they were left with the property, they had to think of ways to make it productive.
First they grew kangkong, then they went into hog-raising, and later ventured into aquaculture. He developed his own farming system from what he learned through his experiences and to shorten the learning process, he is mentoring people how to maximize the potential of a farm. He was one of the pioneer in organic farming in Negros Occidental and the first president of Organik na Negros! Organic Producers and Retailers Association which organizes the annual Negros Island Organic Farmers Festival.
You cannot have a conversation with Mon without being infected by his enthusiasm towards organic agriculture. Mon is a source of inspiration for anybody who wants to learn about organic farming.
Mon’s advocacy is that “No Filipino should go hungry in his own land.” This is why he is changing how farmers think by teaching them how to earn 7-8 digits in net income annually. Organic farms do not depend on external inputs so they have a lot of savings unlike most conventional farms.
Tools of the Trade and Wisdom to Live By
To be a better agripreneur, Mon uses the ‘Agripreneur’s Toolbox’ which include the Language of the Soil, Language of the Plants, Language of the Animals, and Art of War against pests and diseases. Mon also advises farmers to make use of different business opportunities under the concept of “Farm to Market, Farm to Kitchen, and Farm to Plate”. He also encourages the farmers to go into agri-tourism in order to maximize income from their farms.
One never gets bored with Mon’s lectures. He injects humor into his lectures and makes things a lot easier to understand, especially for the small farmers. You will not miss the message he wants to convey if you listen to one of his impassioned speeches. He always tell the farmers that “A farmer who doesn’t know how to pray is not a good farmer.”
Personally, one of the valuable lessons I learned from him was not about farming but about family. He advised us in one of the conversations we had with him, to never strive so much for a big house. Valuable time with family is the most important thing. If you have a big house, chances are you don’t see much of your kids. But if you have a small house, you tend to bump into each other.
If a farmer can be successful with only a small farm, there’s no reason a family cannot be happy even if they live in a small house. This analogy is entirely mine but I hope you get my point.