Tucked in Barangay Libas, Banga, Aklan, the Meliton Organic Farm is a symbol of yet another emerging fruit of collective efforts with the efficient practice of diversified organic-based farming. More than the goal to alleviate poverty and supporting the educational needs of her children, Palmy Delfin Meliton ventured into such endeavor to help the community.

Retired as a government employee in 2013, she started to explore organic farming and invest her time in acquiring knowledge on it through the trainings offered by the Department of Agriculture (DA) Western Visayas and the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) Region 6.

Meliton got the seed of idea in organic farming with the assistance of DA-High Value Crop Program technical focal person Jonifer Frades in 2014 who was then affiliated to a private company.

“I learned how to make different kinds of concoctions like the Organic Herbal Nutrient (OHN), Fish Amino Acid (FAA), Fermented Plant Juice (FPJ), Fermented Fruit Juice (FFJ), Indigenous Micro Organism (IMO), the use of neem tree as pesticide, and of organic feeds for swine and native chicken,” Meliton proudly relayed.

After six months, she grew different kind of fruit trees and vegetables in her 5-hectare land such as rambutan, chico, papaya, coconut, dragon fruit, calamansi and varieties of lowland vegetables like eggplant, squash, patola, okra, and tomatoes.

Palmy believes that constant learning and obtaining knowledge in farming make this endeavor a success. Thus, after DA and ATI introduced the basics of good agricultural practices, she adapted the techniques and continue to practice them until now.

“I was able to learn Babuyan at Manukan na Walang Amoy, attractants for insects, composting and the use of air-dried malunggay mixed with rice bran, kangkong and molasses for livestock and poultry feeds, as well as organic feeds for swine which I still practice until today,” she added.

Her dedication in her chosen craft made her build a stronger community as she thought of ways on how to extend her knowledge and skills among other organic farmers in the nearby barangays in order to enhance the organic feasibility of their farms. With this, she attributed a part of her farm in the establishment of a learning site for the community which was built with the help of the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) headed by Dr. Eden del los Reyes.

“Now, the learning site serves as a venue to transfer technology and skills to the future farmers who wants to adopt organic way of agriculture especially now with the pandemic. It was made possible for the people to be more resilient and to cut postharvest expenses thus, resulting to organic way of farming,” Meliton explained.

Moreover, the DA- Organic Agriculture Program (OAP) also made her a beneficiary of vegetable and fruit seedling nursery building worth Php 300,000. She was also able to avail livestock and poultry for starter breeding which she has worked to expand. Currently, more than 23 heads of native swine, 8 heads of goat, 4 heads of cattle, 50 heads of Muscovy duck, 3 heads of turkey, and 100 heads of native chicken are being raised and bred in Meliton Farm.

Apart from those interventions, Palmy received rice seed subsidy from the DA’s Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Program which she planted in the 1.2-hectare rice area and eventually harvested more than 100 sacks.

With these collaborative efforts in enhancing the lives of the farmers through the various programs of DA, Palmy has become a role model and a beacon of knowledge for the farming community to adopt organic diversification in agriculture for higher income and sustainability.

Also, with her knowledge and experience, she is undoubtedly equipped to train other farmers in composite farming. In fact, she was awarded as outstanding farmer in 2016 for the Regional Organic Agriculture Achievers Award (ROAAAA) and was able to receive Php 50,000 cash for Small Farmer category in 2018.

“If there is a will, there’s a way. Fresh fruits and vegetables naturally grown and raised in your home and local community has a great impact on our mental and emotional health as well as in the environment,” Palmy stressed, encouraging engagement to organic farming particularly now at our most difficult fight against the pandemic. ###JCapaciete-DA6/RAFIS, Photo Credits: Anthony Faulan/DA-OAP