Success Story of Glenn M. Ferrer
Digos City, Davao del Sur
Region XI
Glenn M. Ferrer didn’t really plan on being a farmer. Back in 2016, he only wanted to build a rest house and start a backyard garden for his family in Prk. Narra, Brgy. Soong, Digos City. Davao del Sur.
His goal back then was to secure food for his family which wasn’t loaded with chemicals – which means that even in the initial stages of his soon-to-be integrated farm, he was already practicing organic farming.
Ferrer dubbed his garden-turned-to-farm as ‘Green Farm’ and with the help of OPAG and the City Agriculturist Office, he started to produce food not just for their consumption, but for mass production. He implements Profitable Innovative Farming System (PIFS), which means breaking from conventional farming and practicing integrated farming in a small area since his farm was considerably smaller than the usual.
Green Farm is smaller compared to other farms, but Ferrer utilized his area well – he has a fishpond with catfish, mushroom, bees, strawberry, grapes, and lettuce. He also grows vegetables which are used in chopsuey and pinakbet. He also raises native chicken, turkey, and ducks.
Even though his farm has considerably grown since 2016, Ferrer never strayed from his original purpose – to provide safe and chemical-free food for his family through organic farming.
Part of the progress of Green Farm includes its transformation into a demo farm for organic farming, where Ferrer gave actual demonstrations on how to make concoctions and soil preparation before the pandemic, and will continue to do so if quarantine restrictions will allow it.
On July 9, 2021, Green Farm received its PhilGAP (Philippine Good Agricultural Practices) Certification for Crops, with a scope of certification which includes lettuce, broccolli, cauliflower, squash, eggplant, bitter gourd, pechay, cucumber, sitao, tomato, lady’s finger, and chili.
In spite of his success, Ferrer recalls that he also faced opposition for his advocacy. He was once chided by another farmer for talking about organic farming in one of the forums that he attended.
The other farmer told him to not encourage others to go organic because he has only been farming for 3 years, and the other farmer has been farming for 40 years. With his experience, he is implying that Ferrer isn’t knowledgeable enough about farming.
Instead of directly confronting the other farmer, Ferrer let him speak before saying that synthetics can decrease the yield and increase the expenses that is why ‘failure’ is a word that they will often hear during harvest season.
Ferrer then said that why should farmers rely on synthetic pesticide when they can make their own from the things that they can find on their farm. Ferrer almost has all the organic concoctions in his farm, which he produces himself.
Being a champion for organic farming has led Ferrer into winning in the Small Farmer Individual Category of the Regional Organic Agriculture Achievers Award 2020.
Aside from being an advocate of organic farming, Ferrer is also the chairman of Digos City Integrated Farmers and Fisherfolk Association. Using his position in the organization, Ferrer continues to help his fellow farmers by sourcing out raw products from them and producing products such as vinegar, coffee (native, Robusta, and Arabica), garlic chili sauce, ube bars, tablea, ointment, soap, and organic fertilizers (Foliar, OHN, GMF3, FFJ, FPJ, IMO, and Calphos).
His bestsellers are the garlic chili sauce and Sukarat (Sukang PInakurat), which has reached as far as Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, and Cebu. Ferrer has sold over a thousand bottles of garlic chili sauce since 2020.
The other products are sold in Digos and other areas in Davao del Sur, and Ferrer plans to expand his market reach once he gains enough capital for it.