JEFSPA Sustainable Technologies

Based on Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of United Nation, fertilizer application in the Philippines increased by 1000% from 1961-2005, while yield of rice increased only by 200% and corn by 280%. One of the contributors of such massive increase of agrochemical used was the “Masagana 99 Project” in 1972 which promotes Green Revolution with the use of High Yielding Varieties (HYVs). Government even encouraged farmers to spend heavily in those seeds and agrochemical inputs. The introduction of HYVs of seeds in the 70’s triggers the eradication of indigenous rice and farmers have lost ownership of the seeds they grow. Excessive and inappropriate use of chemical fertilizers in crops cause land degradation and losses soil fertility.

The false promises of the Green Revolution or the Masagana 99 Project have long been recognized by the government. It’s a high time that the government should supports the real revolution in farming that meets the needs of the local communities and the environment, restores the land and enables the poor to combat hunger, displacement and depletion of our resources and culture. There is an existing way that shares sustainable production, the way of Juanito Eco Farm and School for Practical Agriculture.

Juanito Eco Farm and School for Practical Agriculture (JEFSPA) is a small farm owned by Mr. Olegario Fernandez Paredes, Jr. located in Brgy. Montebello, Kananga, Leyte that progressively ventures into natural farming methods. In 2005, the farm adapted the organic farming and developed the RIDUKU (Rice-Duck-Kuhol) technology which stresses that golden apple snail or “kuhol” is not a pest but a friend to rice farmers if given proper management. In 2015, the farm partnered with different government agencies such as Agriculture Training Institute of Region VIII for its RIDUKU technology; Bureau of Fishery and Aquatic Resources for its Rice-Fish Culture technology, among others. In 2016, Agriculture Training Institute awarded JEFSPA as School for Practical Agriculture and became TESDA accredited farm school. Mr. Paredes became Regional Winner (Individual Farmer Category) in the 4th Eastern Visayas Organic Agriculture Congress awarded last July 11, 2018 at the Regional Organic Agriculture Congress.

Farm technologies and business Models Developed and improved at JEFSPA were as follows:

From November 2017 to November 2018, JEFSPA produces more than 200 graduates for Organic Agriculture Production NCII and more than 200 graduates for COC on Organic Fertilizer and Vegetable Production.