In the northern side of Central Luzon, some 1,600 kilometers away from the besieged city of Marawi in the south where soldiers are currently waging a courageous battle against terrorism, the Philippine Army has taken the offensive in a “war” on another front—hunger and poverty.
While the sound of automatic gunfire incessantly reverberates and the thud of falling bombs and artillery munitions tore the ground of Mindanao’s Islamic city, a soft tone crackled through the “virginal” lands of the military in Northern Luzon, with the noise being generated by pickaxes, bars and other gardening tools used by soldier farmers.
The soldiers are working in Northern Luzon to address hunger and poverty, which are two of the principal root causes of terrorism and criminality in Mindanao, they say.
Real fight
In undertaking the farming project, particularly at Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Tarlac, the home base of the Army’s Mechanized Infantry Division, Brig. Gen. Felicisimo Budiongan said they did not only intend to fight hunger and poverty, but also wanted to chip in to the national campaign of eradicating these problems.
Actually, fighting poverty and terrorism mixes well for Budiongan. When the BusinessMirror reached him for this story, he was in Marawi leading the charge of the mechanized division’s mobility and firepower support to the ground troops operating against the Maute-IS Group.
“Through the project, we are not only fighting hunger, but we’re even encouraging our soldiers to duplicate it in their backyards, and even by [residents of] communities,” said Budiongan, who is the deputy commander of the Mechanized Infantry Division.
“We are also curing ailments through the natural method,” he added, referring to the use of the wide array of herbal plants that grow in their farm.
Both the vegetable products and herbal plants are not only benefitting the soldiers, but even the communities near the camp, especially during harvest time.
The farming project was actually undertaken with the help and support of the Tarlac Heritage Foundation (THF), headed by Dr. Isabel Cojuangco-Suntay, also called Dr. Isa.
The non-governmental organization also undertakes other community-related projects, not only in Luzon, but even in other areas of the country. Outside of Marawi City proper, it has built temporary homes made up of bamboo and nipa for the bakwets, or residents forced out of their abodes in Marawi.
Budiongan said the farming project at Camp O’Donnell began in 2010, when he was still the division’s chief of staff. Today, it has grown to what is now called the Hardin ng Lunas, with the vegetable farm occupying half a hectare of land and the orchard, which also teems with fruit-bearing trees, sitting on another 5 hectares.
“We made use of the unused spaces inside the camp,” he said, adding that they were not only putting up food for the table, but were even helping in mitigating the effects of climate change.
Project expansion
From Camp O’Donnell, the farming project, still with the support of the THF, was duplicated at Camp Aquino, the headquarters of the Armed Forces Northern Luzon Command, where an orchard grew for the Air Force unit stationed at the camp sprang just like in the Camp O’Donnell project. The undertaking at Camp Aquino made use of the organic style of farming, with the seeds provided by the East-West Seed Co. Inc.
Marvin Ramento, the company’s “point man” for Northern Luzon, said they made no qualms in joining the farming project upon the initiative of Dr. Isa after they learned that its principal beneficiaries were soldiers.
Besides, he said, the undertaking augurs well with their firm’s advocacy of greater dietary consumption of vegetables by Filipinos.
“We are not only helping the soldiers to become self-sufficient, teaching them of farming methods, but were also promoting our advocacy,” Ramento said.
He noted that while the country was supposed to be an agricultural state, Filipinos are consuming more meat products than vegetables.
Among the seeds that East-West provided were okra, pechay, mustard (mustasa), swamp cabbage (kangkong), chili (sili), eggplant (talong) and spinach.
Budiongan said the farming initiative is very sustainable. “Tuluy-tuloy at pang matagalan [This is one sustainable project we intend to pursue].”
Aside from the two camps in Northern Luzon, similar projects were also undertaken in lots at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City, the general headquarters of the Army, and at the 1st Infantry Division in Zamboanga; at the compound of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) in Malacañang; and even in Marawi City.
The farming project for the PSG was opened in February this year by President Duterte, who would also ensure the continuity of the project in Marawi City in the next couple of days.
The farming project in Marawi is already benefiting those who were displaced by the ongoing operations against the terrorists.
Civilian support
The reason the farming activities in lands occupied by the military has become sustainable is it has managed to tap outside support, such as that of farming and agriculture expert Corvill Agricom, headed by Tony Cortes.
Like in the case of East-West, Corvill, which was tapped into the project by Dr. Isa, provided the knowledge and expertise for the military’s farming initiative—from conceptualization down to production and harvest.
While Corvill is an importer and distributor of farm-nourishing products, it principally promotes organic and scientific farming.
Corvill is honored in partnering with the THF for the military project, as it gave it the opportunity to work with members of the Armed Forces and their families by sharing its technical expertise.
This is the same case with all of the other projects that it has undertaken in farming communities around the country.
“It’s one way of giving to the community,” said Cortes, Corvill president.
In working with the military, Corvill not only provided the technical requirement, but even took care of the nourishment and product sides of the soldiers’ farming projects.
The support is all the way, from start to finish, according to Cortes.
“It is actually satisfying to be of the service to the soldiers, to the community in our little way,” Cortes added.
In doing so, he said, they were also contributing to the country’s effort to attain food sufficiency, aside from promoting the government’s wellness program by propagating nutritious food.
Also, since the project involves organic farming, the soldiers are assured that their vegetables are free from toxins, thus, boosting their vitality as they protect the country’s sovereignty.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes