Retiree finds joy in farming
By Eda Lou Tangapa-Manigo
SIQUIJOR, Sept. 6 (PIA) -- At 80, he is not someone who unwinds on a large front porch in the swing or rocks his cares away in the rocking chair or one who suffers modern-day diseases such as digestive disorders, diabetes, hypertension or arthritis.
For this consistent outstanding farmer-awardee Prisco Daug, his small farm in barangay Helen, Larena, Siquijor offers him a seven-day detoxification program for the last ten years.
"Farming is my stress buster, it’s my form of exercise”, Manong Prisco said with his still youthful smile.
Indeed, today’s farmers often live a backbreaking work, long hours and uncertainty coupled with low returns on much of what they produce.
Worse they are constantly plagued with their traditional enemies – bad weather, drought, floods and mice. So what drives this hardy soul?
Manong Prisco had once known an easier life as a ship captain overseas and retiring for quite some time in the US but the pull of the land brought him back, continuing his parents’ farming legacy.
His former life in the sea is a direct contrast with what he loves to do now. “Perhaps farming has given me a stronger sense of my place in the world”, he further said.
Daug said he could have ventured into other businesses but the opportunities he recently experienced in farming totally lured his heart to go full-time in agriculture despite his old age.
His closest partner is the Farmers Information and Technology Services (FITS) center and the Farmer Scientist Training Program (FSTP) in the province of Siquijor.
He has a diverse small-scale agri-business ventures ranging from crops to animal production.
He also produces ornamental plants, fruit-bearing trees, and vegetables and presently keeps 50 heads of goats placed in their goat shed, several native and hybrid chickens for egg production, hogs and 2 heads of horses.
Farm wastes are left in the field to decompose and others such as goat and chicken manure are used as organic fertilizer, he said.
His farm production record gives him proceeds of not less than P100,000 each year, which is a considerable additional income to his monthly pensions.
He also said that much of his produce will go for their daily consumption. “We can harvest crops and vegetables any time we want, there’s no need to buy food outside. Besides they are healthier to eat”, he said.
As a farmer, he is active in attending field days, seminars, technical briefings conducted by the local Agriculture and private companies.
This energetic fellow strives to produce naturally wholesome meats and vegetables through low input, sustainable agricultural methods.
Manong Prisco admitted though that farming techniques are undergoing tremendous changes and that farmers must change with the industry, as it becomes increasingly more sophisticated.
The farmer must become more of a specialist to compete in the marketplace but if it will become more scientific, in the process lose some of its romance”, he said.
At his age, he farms because he loves farming and the lifestyle it entails. He has not entered this profession for the sake of making money of living an easy life.
For this gentlemen farmer, farming has become more than just a means to an end. It has become a fresh lifestyle, his second wind, a new enterprise. (PIA-Siquijor/mbcn/rac/etm)