“We never regret our decision because we love our job, and we are happy helping our fellow farmers.”
TWO young farmers in Batac City, Ilocos Norte, now find fulfillment in being engaged in farming after leaving their respective jobs in 2022.
Kevin Wayne Baga, 27, and his girlfriend, Ana Cristina Guiang, 26, are owners of KA-Bukid Propagation Farm, which produces seedlings for local farmers to grow. Both are licensed agriculturists who believe that farmers need quality seedlings to maximize the potential of their produce.
Located just a few meters along the Manila North Road in Sitio Nagabaan, the farm won in the 2021 Young Farmers Challenge Fund program of the Department of Agriculture. Using their P100,000 grand prize as startup capital, the two set up the seedling nursery within a 2,000-square-meter agricultural lot owned by Baga's grandmother.
Baga used to work in a private seed company and agri-machinery firm, while Guiang taught short-term agriculture courses offered by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
As both realized seedling propagation needs tender loving care, they took a risk and quit their jobs to pursue a livelihood in agriculture.
“We never regret our decision because we love our job, and we are happy helping our fellow farmers,” Baga and Guiang said.
Like in any enterprise, Guiang said one must be “hands on” to make it work.
“You need to focus and think of ways to make it a profitable venture,” she added.
Aside from serving walk-in clients or joining agri-trade fairs to establish a network with clients, the KA-Bukid Farm is also active on social media where they post their ready-to-plant seedlings such as tomatoes, eggplant, sweet and hot pepper, papaya, fruit-bearing trees and ornamentals, among others.
They are also open for reservation, pickup and delivery as they propagate high-value seedlings all year round. To date, the nursery has a capacity of 1,600 trays. Each tray is sold at P250.
“It is a good business because you just don't earn for money, you can help farmers, too, by ensuring that the seedlings they are planting are free from pests and diseases,” Guiang said, as cited that the farm has also become a source of sustainable livelihood to their elderly kin Norma Rayosa, 65, and Romula Clemente, 60.
“Seedling propagation is quite an easy and fulfilling job even for seniors like us,” said Lola Norma, as she went about her work in the nursery.
Both she and Clemente sometimes help in harvesting vegetables at the production area as they grow high-value crops.
With a high demand for quality seedlings among Ilocos farmers, the KA-Bukid Farm plans to expand the nursery to cater to more clients in nearby provinces like Ilocos Sur, Cagayan and Apayao.
The farm is also being eyed as a learning site for practical agriculture. The process of accreditation with the Agricultural Training Institute is ongoing.
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