Another major seed company is East-West Seed Company, one of the largest vegetable seed companies in Southeast Asia, headquartered in Thailand.  Its strong focus is on tropical varieties such as ampalaya, pechay, tomato and eggplant.  Its products for sale are widely available in garden shops and online.  It is well known for developing appropriate technology producing hybrid seeds tailored for Philippine conditions.   Its products can be cultivated even in small urban plots.  Then there is Pilipinas Kaneko Seeds Corporation, established in 1982, which offers a wide range of vegetable seeds (lettuce, cucumber radish, etc.)  It has an office in Makati. Its seeds can germinate and be cultivated in containers.  Seedworks Philippines is another seed supplier that focuses on improved seed varieties and R&D and caters to both commercial farmers and smaller growers and hobbyists.  Ramgo  International Corporation is a distributor of seeds and agricultural inputs, carrying multiple vegetable seed lines, and specializes in bulk buying and distribution channels.  Finally, there is Haverson Enterprises that offer vegetable seeds and gardening inputs.

       Within the National Capital Region, there are urban gardening suppliers that are especially relevant to home growers, balcony gardeners and hobbyists (like me).  A leading Manila-based seed supplier is KSHC Seeds Trading, especially suited to those who are looking for affordable seed packets for beginners.  Right in the middle of Cubao in Quezon City is Farmers Garden, very appropriate for a one-stop shop for urban gardeners looking for seeds, seedlings and gardening supplies.  Then there is Filipinas Agri Growers Supply, Inc. that caters especially to mid-scale urban gardening projects, such as those of schools and associations of households within subdivisions. Specialized in gardening supplies like soil, fertilizers, herbicides and other inputs is Urban Goes Green.  An urban farming initiative in Makati is Urban Greens which promotes growing your own food in the city.  For those who are promoting sustainable gardening practices, there is Urban Vermicomposting PH which focuses on organic gardening systems which complement seed growing with composting solutions and, therefore,  good for sustainable home food production. Urban Garden Seed offers vegetable, fruit, and herb seeds for home gardeners.  Because it also offers gardening tools and starter kits, this enterprise fits the needs of the beginners who want easy ordering and guidance.

            As a planting guide for the more than 10 million people residing in the NCR, keep in mind that this urban conglomerate has two main seasons, i.e. dry (November to May) and wet (June to October.  January and February, being both cool and dry, is best season to plant lettuce, pechay, carrots, and herbs.  The hot-dry (March to May) season is good for planting kangkong, okra, eggplants and sili.  The seeds should be heat-tolerant.  Then June to July (once again coinciding with beginning of the school year for public school) is appropriate for planting kangkong and malunggay (avoid lettuce and tomatoes).  During the transition month of August and September, tomatoes (in containers and sheltered), eggplant and peppers are appropriate.  The fourth quarter of the year is best for lettuce, pechay, herbs and tomatoes.  The best companies for each crop are as follows:  for pechay, kangkong, lettuce and eggplant choose East-West Seed Company Harbest (Known You) and Pilipinas Kaneko Seeds Corporation.

            As a summary, start with leafy greens and herbs.  Use cool months (October to February) for best results.  Buy seeds from East-West, Harbest, Kaneko and local shops like KSHC.  Expand later to tomatoes, peppers and fruits like papayas (especially the “solo” variety from Harbest). Producing from urban gardens right in the middle of the more than ten million people in the National Capital Region will go a long way to minimize transport costs and reduce food inflation (which can be as high as 10 %) in the coming months when the whole world will be recovering from the ravages of the US-Iran war.  Hopefully, this can keep overall inflation below the 5% level. 

            Every crisis should be turned into opportunity.  Any growing interest in farming as an occupation that may result from this crisis among members of the middle class may lead to a solution to the grave problem in agriculture which is the advanced average age of the typical Filipino farmer which is to sixty years.  Children of farmers, having experienced the sufferings of their parents that resulted from decades of government neglect of the agricultural sector, are the last ones to choose farming as an occupation.  Most of them have migrated to construction, manufacturing, services or work abroad.   That is why I am glad to learn that some forward-looking people in business and education have organized in Lipa, Batangas what is known as the Dagatan Family Farm School/Dual Agritech Training Center.  It is located at 120 Narra St., Purok 1-B Brgy Dagatan, Lipa City.  Contact +63 (945) 540-6194.  The school trains Filipino youth, whether or not coming from the farming sector, in modern technology in farming as well as in the whole agribusiness value chain (storage, logistics, supply chain and food processing). 

            Dagatan is part of the Dual Agritech system, a modern agricultural training model that combines classroom instruction with hands-on farm and industry training.   The program follows a two-phase structure:  six months of classroom instruction on agriculture science, sustainable farming, and agribusiness concepts and practices.  This phase is then followed by real farm work, exposure to agri-tech systems through partner enterprises and finally industry immersion.  The “dual” approach is inspired by European (especially German, French and Spanish) training systems that combine study and work.

            Dagatan School offers TESDA and tech-voc programs such as Organic Agriculture Production (NC II) and Agri-entrepreneurship (NC II).  Other learning areas include:  Crop and animal production, especially poultry and hogs; food processing; agri-preneurship (how to start a business); and sustainable and organic farming.  Its unique features are “learning by doing”, training in modern agri-technology (e.g.hydroponics, agri-robotics exposure); and most important of all strong emphasis on values formation and discipline, not just skills.  Students have access to demo farms, greenhouses and livestock facilities.  It must be pointed out that the province of Batangas will be the venue of the largest poultry project in Asia, care of Jollibee Foods Corporation in partnership with Cargill Philippines.  The joint venture called Cargil Joy Poultr Meats Production, Inc. (C-Joy) operates a large poultry processing plant In Santo Tomas, Batangas which supplies dressed and marinated chick-en  to Jollibee’s various brands and works with local poultry farmers in Batangas and the entire CALABARZON region.

            Let this food crisis then lead to an increase of Filipino youth who will choose as an occupation farming and its related fields in agribusiness instead of being obsessed, as in the past, with a college degree. Dagatan is for senior high school graduates and other youth interested in the whole field of agribusiness and is definitely not limited to children of farmers.  The experience so far is that the employability among graduates is 95 % while a small number who have access to their own farms have become agri-preneurs, putting up their own small or medium-scale enterprises. To summarize, the Dagatan Dual Agritech School is one of the Philippines’ leading modern agricultural skills-oriented (not academic) training centers.  It combines European style dual training, Philippine family farm school experiences and strong focus on entrepreneurship and technology.  These features are particularly important today as agriculture shifts toward high-tech, business-oriented farming.  For comments, my email address is bernardo.villegas@uap.asia