Asturias pushes agri-tourism

CEBU, Philippines - Eco-tourism is not Asturias' strength. Admitting to this, Mayor Alan Adlawan shared that he is setting the drawing board instead on further promoting agricultural tourism to complement his major goals of food security, poverty alleviation, hunger mitigation, social equity, and resource sustainability.

Through the Office of the Municipal Agriculturist, he said, one of the major vehicles that would strengthen agri-tourism is through the Agriculture and Fisheries Extension and Sustainable Development Programs.

Municipal agriculturist Jade Mesias, 26 years old, shared that 2013 would be an exciting year in giving agri-tourism a prominent face in their municipality.

"The farmers are highly receptive to interventions, so we've already seen the potential to let tourists come and observe best practices in agriculture that would be handled by people's organizations," he said.

Best places to check would be:

• Coffee farm. Coffee production was given high priority in 2011. Through the efforts of Mayor Adlawan, the Municipality of Asturias was known as the first town in the Province of Cebu and in the region to have produced high quality Robusta coffee planting materials. For 2011, the OMA distributed almost 24,000 Robusta coffee seedlings to farmers and private landowners, as well as technical assistance to the coffee growers in Barangays Baye, Lanao, and Lunas. Tours to open in Lunas may also strengthen the desire of farmers to learn more on coffee production technology through the Farmer's Field School on Coffee-based Sustainable Farming System so that they may share the information well to visitors.

• Root crops farm. Massive production of root crops, particularly sweet potato (camote), is intensively initiated in Asturias. Camote has the potential to survive adverse environmental conditions brought about by erratic weather patterns. Should arranged tours materialize next year, visitors may be taken to the first technology demo farm and camote planting materials production farm in San Isidro personally financed and established by the mayor. Tourists get to familiarize three camote varieties planted there: SP17, SP25 and SP30, purchased at the PhilRoot Crops Research and Training Center of the Visayas State University; and of course the high-yielding, good quality sweet potato variety named after the mayor: "Camote ni Mayor Alan." Guests get to know what camote cuttings/planting materials are and will learn hands on how to propagate camote tops. OMA will also be there to share how technical assistance was provided in the establishment of yam/ube production farm, also in San Isidro, called the "kinampay" variety which is also produced by PhilRoot Crops.

• Fruit crops production demo farm. Tourists will learn how to propagate various fruit crops/trees like durian, tamarind, guyabano, narra, chico, breadfruit, among a hundred other plant species. This program is in connection with the implementation of the National Greening Program, wherein the OMA provided the Office of the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office with fruit trees/fruit crops and technical assistance in the conduct of massive tree planting activities in coordination with the secondary schools of the Department of Education Asturias District. In 2011, OMA propagated and distributed and or planted 371 durian seedlings; 3,132 kamansi; 667 jackfruit; 50 tambis; 120 tamarind; 160 guyabano; 50 narra; 55 chico; and 53 rimas/kolo seedlings.

• Vegetable production enhancement techno-demo Farm. The OMA's Crop Division continues to provide high quality and hybrid vegetable seeds particularly to the farmers in Sitio Community, San Isidro identified as "vegetable basket," aside from other vegetable-producing barangays. A total of 400 packs of pinakbet vegetable varieties were distributed to the vegetable farmers of the town last year. Farmer recipients also received technical inputs on the new vegetable production technology specifically on producing veggies under the Greenhouse condition. In addition, OMA conducted bimonthly pest surveillance and monitoring so as to minimize insect and pest infestation. Inasmuch as provision of technical training and technology transfer program is concerned, the OMA provides technical assistance to the vegetable farmers of Tabay Daan Tawo, Poblacion, also considered as the veggie basket of the town in coordination with the Sugbuanon Foundation, Inc. and of the seed firm East-West Seeds Inc., by establishing a technology demo on hybrid vegetable production which involves and empowers 60 veggie farmers from land preparation up to the post-harvest technologies. Tourists can learn so much, and grow too in knowledge and wisdom, from this experience!

• Vermi Farm. The Municipality of Asturias is one of the recipients of the Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Soils and Water Management Vermicast Organic Fertilizer Production Project using African night crawler earthworms. Hence, the Office received a unit of a shredder and two units vermin tea brewers, 30 kilograms earthworms and construction materials for the vermi beds and the shed house. These were placed in San Isidro (Sitio Community), and in Looc Norte National High School. To date, 689 kilograms of vermicast were produced in San Isidro, 367 kg vermicast in Looc Norte NHS. The produced vermicast fertilizer helped the vegetable farmers a lot since such provided source of nutrients/fertilizers to their crops consequently improving the physical properties and fertility status of their soils. Meanwhile, Technology and Livelihood Education teachers and students of Looc Norte benefit on a lot on the mentioned agri-project. They had used the produced vermicast in their fruit trees and vegetable gardening projects.

• Education on chicken dung organic fertilizer program. Based on the soil survey, soils of the majority of the agricultural areas of Asturias are generally classified as oxisols and ultisols (old and highly weathered soils) in the upland and inceptisols (young) in the lowland particularly in floodplain and limestone areas. These are characterized by acidic soil pH, low amount of soil organic matter, deficient in three major soil macronutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, high bulk density meaning soil is compact, low soil aggregates stability, soil texture is clayish as well as with poor soil structure. To rehabilitate and improve the soil physical and chemical characteristics and consequently increasing crop production, subsidized chicken dung organic fertilizer was distributed to the farmers. How this has benefited corn, coffee, veggies, and root crop farmers, being economically feasible as well as environment-friendly, will be shared to tourists through an informal setting, like under canopies of fully grown trees or in greenhouses.

Tourists will also get to learn more about how in a year's time the yield growth in rice went up by 96.96 percent per hectare, aside from corn yield that posted an amazing 471.42 percent growth per hectare.

Mesias noted that the traditional rice variety (RC 18) was replaced by RC 158 which promises five to nine tons average potential yield per hectare. Maturity is 112 to 113 days from day after planting. Yield in 2011 of 33 cavans rose to 65 cavans this year.

Corn yield growth posted 4,000 kilograms or four tons per hectare from a previous 700 kilograms or 0.70 tons per hectare, with the introduction of IPB Variety 6 (high-protein content, open pollinated variety). This variety promises an average potential yield of from four to five tons per hectare, high-resistance to pests, and able to produce large, foot-long corn ears, with maturity seen at 110 days after planting.

• Animal Production and animal health programs. The Livestock Division of the OMA continues to improve and upgrade the genetic quality and performance of local breed of large ruminants (carabao and cattle) through the Artificial Insemination Program. For the animal health services, the Livestock Division also continues to provide animal health and veterinary public services through massive veterinary outreach services with the assistance of the Barangay Animal Health Aide (BAHA) volunteers. For the AI program, 121 native breeds of carabaos were inseminated with Murrah buffalo and Bulgarian buffalo breeds and 173 native cattle breeds were inseminated with American Brahman and Holstein Freisian breeds in 2011. It successfully produced 20 Murrah and Bulgarian buffalo offspring and 67 American Brahman and Holstein Freisian cattle offspring, respectively. Farmers are so impressed with the results of the artificially inseminated ruminants in terms of physical characteristics as well as its market potential as compared with their native one. By August, the Livestock Division implemented a Barangay-based Carabao Breeding Program in partnership with the Philippine Carabao Center. The recipient barangays are Agbanga, New Bago, Lunas, Manguiao, and Sta. Rita. The 48 carabaos were successfully inseminated by AI through synchronization of estrus stage (of bovine reproduction). This would be an interesting feature in future familiarization tours of guests, as they would understand more of the responsibility to take care of beasts of burden as a farmer's reliable farmhand.

• Fishery and coastal resource management. The precarious state of the municipal fisheries resources and the dwindling fish catch encouraged Mayor Adlawan to take important interventions in protecting and conserving the precious marine resources of Asturias. Hence, he immediately instructed the OMA through the Fishery and Coastal Resource Management Division to strengthen Bantay Dagat Operation and establish the Marine Protected Area/Marine Sanctuary in order to protect habitat and marine ecosystems to help maintain viable fisheries and to increase fish productivity in the town. Being situated in the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape, the municipal waters of Asturias is a distinct habitat of the chambered nautilus (Nautilus pompilius, locally called taklong) and a migration route of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) and also of endangered sea turtles and dolphins. In addition, the municipal waters being located in Tañon Strait is considered as one of the major fishing grounds of Central Visayas, thus making the coastal waters in grave danger because of overfishing and illegal fishing methods. Thus, the Fishery and Coastal Resource Management Division of the OMA conducted last February 28, 2011 an orientation about marine sanctuary, which was participated by 50 fisherfolk from the Hugpong sa Mananagat sa Poblacion Asturias and Sitio Looc Sur Fishermen's Association. This was carried out in order for the municipal fisherfolk to get acquainted with the benefits and importance of establishing a marine sanctuary to fisheries management. Right after the orientation, the OMA conducted massive community organizing and community education to the concerned fishermen's association. Such development interventions led to the establishment of a marine sanctuary, the first in Asturias. This was located in Looc Sur, Poblacion which covers approximately 13.09 hectares covering the core zone and buffer zone. This was established with the help of the fishermen themselves. This was done in order to foster pride in the ownership of the marine sanctuary which is important in monitoring illegal fishers that may encroach in the fish sanctuary. This is seen to become a major point in most beachineering, snorkeling, and scuba diving efforts in the future.

How to get there: Take a Corominas Bus at the Cebu South Bus Terminal. It's over 70 kilometers from Cebu City. An option would be to take a bus to Balamban and get a tricycle ride to the next town, north. That's Asturias! There are also vans-for-hire (GT Express or Garage-to-Terminal vans) plying the Transcentral Highway to Balamban from the Ayala Center Cebu Terminal.  (FREEMAN)