Portrait of an accidental farmer

Text and Photos by Henrylito D. Tacio
He is known as one of the finest media personalities in Davao City. Most television viewers know him as the man who reports on crimes (murders, rapes, and robberies) and vehicular accidents. But most people don’t know that he is also a loving husband, a doting father to his three sons, and a farmer.
Even Elric Ayop himself has never imagined of being a farmer. “I am not what most people think of as a green thumb,” he says. “When I was still a kid, I used to plant in our home and even in school. More often than not, those I planted died.”
So much so that when he told his children to go with him to their farm in barangay Kapatagan in Digos City, Davao del Sur, they wondered. “What are we going to do there?” they asked. “We will be planting vegetables,” he replied.
His answer surprised them all the more. “But you are a journalist and not a farmer,” the children told him. Well, he answered them in a low voice, as if he was whispering to them: “You can call me an accidental farmer.”
The good thing about it is that his beautiful wife, Maria Fe (nee Baguio), is very much supportive of his endeavor as a farmer. “The two of us travel from Davao City to our farm in Kapatagan every week,” he reveals. “Sometimes, we travel even twice a week.”
His farm, without name as of this writing, is located some 23 kilometers from the national highway. The road is cemented although there are some portions that are still to be fixed, especially those as you approach the barangay proper.
The almost three-hectare farm is surrounded by banana plantations, which could be dangerous to the organic vegetables he is planting. “When I started the project, almost all people told me that I would fail,” he says. “Once the banana farmers will spray bananas with pesticides, those pests will convene in my farm. But I have proven them wrong.”
The good thing about the farm is that it has a spring. “I was thinking of having a resort here,” he says. “But I think for the moment, it is good for farming. The soil is still fertile and the place is cooler.”
Although Ayop is still new in this kind of endeavor, he seems to be successful. Last February 16, he planted some 7,000 tomatoes in the farm. “Sixty days after planting, we enjoyed our first harvest,” he says. “As I remembered it, we harvested 30 crates and we sold our organically-grown tomatoes at P25 per kilo. The following week, we harvested 15 crates again.”
Ayop finds planting tomatoes more challenging than any other vegetables. “Some people say the lifespan of a tomato is up to three months or good for three harvests only,” he says. “That is true if you plant tomato and apply synthetic fertilizers. But we found out that it is not true when it comes to those grown organically.”
Tomatoes are actually vines and can grow to as high as 10 feet, depending on how a farmer prunes them. “Organic tomatoes can produce 100 fruits or more per hill and continue to bear fruits up to six years or more,” he says. “The crop may start to bear fruits within two months after planting and will continue to bear fruits all year round.”
Instead of using commercial fertilizer, Ayop enriched the soil with horse manure. “Actually, there is no overdose or underdose when it comes to manure; the more manure the better,” he says. For 100 sacks of horse manure, he paid P7,000. “I have not fully used all of them yet. In fact, I still have some horse manure in the farm.”
Like other crops for planting, Ayop prepared the lot where the tomatoes would be grown. In doing land preparation, he applied Organic Humus. This is a super compost material that converts soil from acidic/alkaline into having a normal pH level. One tablespoon of Organic Humus is mixed with 16 liters of water.
“By using Organic Humus, all 60 natural micronutrients in the soil (which are beneficial to crops) are activated,” Ayop explains. “We used it one month before planting and continued spraying every other week. Humus is foliar so you can spray it all over the crops.”
At growing period, Ayop used the “enhanced” Oriental Herbal Nutrient (OHN). It’s a Korean organic bacterial technology that eliminates all forms of bacteria that attack crops, thus leaving the vegetable healthy and strong. In addition, OHN has growth hormones so the crops grow taller than those being applied with synthetic fertilizers.
During the flowering period, an organic fungicide and germicide called Boron Humate is sprayed to hold the flowers so they can grow further to become fruits. “By using organic born, you can expect more tomatoes to bear fruits,” Ayop says. 
According to Ayop, tomatoes can stand well during sunny days. But it’s a different story when it comes to rainy season. “You will encounter different kinds of diseases like early blight and blossom end rot,” he says.
 To check the above diseases, he asked his caretaker to cut the infected leaves and fruits and sprayed the crops with baking soda mixed with water. “With baking soda, the pH level of the leaves will be reduced to normal and cure itself. In a matter of days, new buds will come out.”
 As for the pests like aphids, worms, and grasshopper, Ayop sprays the crops with canola oil. It is mixed with dishwashing liquid and water and once it is sprayed to the crops, the pests would go away thus leaving them clean and healthy.
“With proper cultivation, good organic pesticides, the plants can stand against diseases and pests,” Ayop believes. “Just like human beings, plants also have their so-called ‘antibodies’ which can fight diseases.”
Aside from tomatoes, you can also find other vegetables in the farm: cucumber, eggplant, sweet pepper, and okra.
“There are other benefits of growing crops organically,” he says. “If there’s a glut in the market, farmers may opt not to sell them immediately. This is because crops grown organically don’t rot right away. As such, farmers can wait for the right price for their produce.”
In addition, organically-grown crops have their specified market. “Rich families who are more health conscious are some of our clients,” Ayop says. “Organic vegetables are best to prevent premature aging.”
Organic vegetables can also get rid of those diseases that usually attack when eating pesticide-laden vegetables.
In the northern part of Japan, old people are enjoying life because most of them are eating organic vegetables and drinking tea. 
“We can also achieve a healthy and long life by eating properly and especially if those you put into your mouth are not loaded with chemicals,” Ayop concludes.