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By: Ronalyn F. Mendoza,CCDO ,Quezon I

Two years ago, PCA Quezon I Province established its first KAANIB Farm Business School in  Tayabas  City,   capacitating   members    of  the Samahan ng Magsasakang Nagkakaisa sa Brgy. Malaoa at Calantas (SMNMC) to become successful agripreneurs.

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One of the participants of the training course was Alejandro Sulabo, 54, Chairman of SMNMC. He claims that they are very privileged to be the very first site for KFBS in their area. “Para po sa akin ay isang malaking karangalan      bilang      pangulo      na magkaroon po kami ng pag-aaral tungkol sa KFBS, ganun din po sa aking mga miyembro”, he said.

According to him, farm planning and recordkeeping are the topics that really helped them improved their farm management.
Mr. Sulabo used to be one of the typical farmers who does traditional practices and relies solely on personal knowledge, meaning no recording of farm activities and cashflow. But his learning from KFBS greatly helped him managed his 9-hectare coconut farm intercropped with fruit-bearing trees as well as his 7.50-hectare rice land.

Now applying what he learned from the training, he can now determine how much he is earning and how much he needs to finance farm operations among others. What’s more is that  as  a  farmer-leader  and an active member of various organizations in the community, he shares his knowledge with fellow farmers.

He is the former chairman of Tayabas Federation of Farmers Asssociation (TFFA)  and Calantas Farmers Irrigators Association, member of Coconut Farmers Federation of Tayabas (CFFT), Liga ng mga Kagawad sa Paraang Organiko (LIKASPO) and City Agriculture and Fisheries Council (CAFC).

In 2018, Mr. Sulabo was an awardee of the Gawad Saka in Quezon Province as Outstanding Rice Farmer. The knowledge he gained from KFBS has contributed a lot to him winning the award as part of the criteria was having detailed farm records.

“Hinanapan nila ako ng records. Bagama’t  dati  ako’y   nagrerecord na, hindi detalyado, ay ngayon nang ako’y nag-aral ay talagang natuto ako ng tamang pag-rerecord, talagang itinatala ko na nang ayos”, he stated. Now, as an “influencer” to other farmers who usually consult him when it comes to farm records, he    is happy to share his knowledge and learnings from KFBS. His willingness to learn more and inspire coconut farmers became a passion – thanks to KFBS and congratulations to the PCA family for a job well done!