Entrepreneurial Farmer

Ambrosio R. Villorente

The Joy In Fish Farming

Agriculture is the art and science of cultivating, producing and utilizing crops, trees, flowers, ornamental plants, fish and other marine products. Art because beauty is enhanced. Pruning trees, planting in straight rows are done to please the eyes. Agriculture is a science as it deals with flowers, ornamental trees and even grasses used for landscaping for beauty, for recreation and enrich the soul. Agriculture is being done to produce food, happiness, and for profit.

I believe, a farmer must be in a very good health and highly knowledgeable. He must be healthy to perform a heavy job and withstand all weather condition. A grain farmer must know chemistry as he uses fertilizer and pesticide; a livestock farmer must be good doctor of veterinary medicine; a fisherman must be a good astronomer to predict the weather, the high and low tide. He must be well versed in finance, in human relation.

Business on the other hand means a commercial enterprise or establishment, it is a trade, a profession or calling. With these definitions, I can safely say that “Agribusiness” is an enterprise on agriculture and fishery. There are various types of agribusiness like poultry, hog, cutflower, vegetables, grains and others.

This column will be on fishpond operation which aims to produce milkfish (bangus) and prawn (sugpo), an agribusiness enterprise Aklan is engaging. My family were in Metro Manila since 1961. I worked with the Department of Agriculture. While Dr. Florencia “Rencee” F. Villorente taught Mathematics and Methods of Research in three universities.

After the Edsa Revolution, Rencee planned of managing their family fish farm as none of her brothers and sisters was ready to manage it. Having been exposed to some feasibility studies on fish production and being convinced of its great potential, I agreed that Rencee stops teaching. We took over the management of the fishpond of modest area. I accepted a provincial assignment, in my hometown of Banga, Aklan.

At first, there were lots of adjustments made. Rencee could no longer wear her long stockings and high-heeled shoes. There are lots, tons of mud. She learned to use hat, wear T-shirt and long pants in her fish farm supervision. Her complexion became dark.

We upgraded the status of the fish farm by repairing the leaking, dikes and increased its height. Constructed some water gates, improved the pond level to hasten entry and exit of water. Excavated the soil to increase water area. The soil was analyzed to determine nutrient content and its fertilizer requirement. Exterminated the predators and competitors. Predators are those that eat the seeded fries while competitors are those that compete in eating the feed like “Tibo-tibo shells.

We learned some fishpond terms like “Tamanyo” Sawayang, Tarol”, and others. Aside from the basic tools like bolo, shovel, rake, we procured vehicles for easy mobility and transport production inputs like fries, lime, and fertilizer. There are three types of employee: monthly, daily, and contractual for special jobs.

The personnel may take liquor on Sundays and holidays but never on working days. If they really wanted to drink, they are given vacation. Several undesirable things happened in the fish farm when the technicians were drunk. Fish farm technicians must be alert as they are dealing with lives. For one thing, selling fish farm products or the part of the workers without the owner’s knowledge and repeated drunkenness are disallowed.
The fish farm is divided into nursery, transition and grow-out ponds. The sizes of these ponds are proportional to each other. The nursery is a pond where fries are seeded for two to four weeks until they reach the size of a matchstick. They are transferred to the transition pond until they become fingerlings where they are finally taken to the grow-out pond until ready for harvest.

The best marketable size for milkfish is three to four pieces per kilo. This is also the most profitable size for the producer.
Milkfish fry supply still comes from the coastal areas specifically in Antique and Romblon as far as Aklan is concerned. Even if the Philippines has succeeded in hatching eggs of bangus, with the increasing demand and diminishing supply of bangus fry, price of it is becoming very expensive. With the latest technology, milkfish fry is now produced in the hatcheries. Prawn fry is of two kinds, the wild and the hatchery with controlled condition. The wild fry is caught in the sea coast. While the hatchery is produced in the hatchery. Wild prawn fry is highly and fast growing but expensive than hatchery. Wild fry is easy to grow while hatchery demands tender loving care to grow at high survival rate. The fishes of high quality are fed with natural grown “lab-lab” or “lumot”. No artificial feeding. Vermicast is excellent material to hasten algae growth.

For 22 years of small fishpond operation, we learned much but still more are to be studied. We learned managing people, the scientific culture of milkfish and shrimp. We learned to take care and love nature. Massage the soil, plant trees, slept late at night to watch our crop grow and harvest. It is happiness that we are part of supplying a small part of the food needs of the community.

The scientific way of production and the standard being followed of harvesting assure good quality product. The products have desirable smell and taste good. Moreover, it has longer keeping quality because of some harvesting techniques.

An advice: never produce goods for the sake of profit alone. Produce it to supply a felt need. Design ponds for local consumption. Harvest during “Aya-ay” when supply is scarce or limited. This is for service and beneficial to many. High quality promotes goodwill. Never use any poison in the pond for the good health of the people and our ecology.

For those who plan to engage in fish farming or in any branch of agriculture, it is easy. He must be physically and mentally fit, knows little of many things. He mingles with people. Love the soil, love water, love nature. Must visit the farm and stay awake either late in the evening or early dawn. He provides the factors that make fish production profitable such as salinity, acidity, temperature, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, feed, water management among others.

Agribusiness demands hard work, sincerity, honesty and dedication. Food production like fish will always remain as the sunshine industry and as profitable as you want it. As long as there is people, food will always be in demand. The Philippines has a rapid population growth which food production must catch up.

Space for production is likewise decreasing. Therefore, more demand for food, less supply. Hence, high price, profit. Above all, it is a joy, service to the people, service to God. /MP