The thought of having a farm has been a long-standing dream of Maria Rigena Teves or Rigene ever since she was a child. As someone who grew up in Cebu, Rigene shared that she only had glimpses of beautiful landscapes and farms in their area when their family had time to visit there. Her dream is to save money and acquire a piece of land for her family.
When she landed a stable job, she rose from the ranks that enabled her to save money for years. Through her job, she got detailed in Olongapo City but her dream to acquire a piece of land did not change. Rigene started to scout for it by roaming around the whole province of Zambales. Coincidently, she found a place for her dream farm and purchased a piece of land in Sta. Cruz, Iba, Zambales in 2016.
The goal of TIFF
From an overgrown vacant lot, Rigene saw its potential and turned it into an integrated farm filled with different vegetables and livestock which is now known as Teves Integrated Family Farm or TIFF. As its name implies, the farm is the labor of love by Rigene’s family – mother, siblings, nephews and nieces, even in-laws. TIFF’s goal is to readily supply food for the family as well as the whole community that could generate income to everyone.
Rigene shared that farming has a big impact and contribution to ourselves, our community, our country and the whole world. “Napakalawak at sobrang laki ang na-i-ambag at ma-i-aambag ng pagsasaka – sa ating sarili, sa komunidad, sa ating bansa, at sa buong mundo. Bagama’t naging mabilis ang pagsulong ng teknolohiya sa nakaraang dekada, hindi parin nababawasan ang kahalagahan ng pagsasaka sa ating lipunan,” she explained.
Nurturing the farm
Rigene admitted that it was not easy to develop the farm. It needed additional capitalization after its purchase and it also needs to be cleaned up. Luckily, she had the help and assistance of her family to develop the area especially in the startup and land preparation. Through the years of developing the farm, Rigene had a vision to maximize the 7,600 square meters of farm lot into an organic-based farm. She wanted to embrace farming that will help enhance the nutrients in the soil and should not use chemicals which could adversely affect the health of the people.
During this time, she also started to attend training activities on agriculture spearheaded by the Agricultural Training Institute, Villar SIPAG Foundation, and other government and private agencies.
Ever since they started planting, their best practice in cultivating the farm is anchored on the principle of natural or organic farming. They have incorporated animal and plant wastes as fertilizer to the crops. Also, in 2019, Rigene has invested materials or equipment for the farm such as multi-purpose shredder, farm tiller, plastic mulch, and multi-treated plastics to improve the production efficiency of the farm.
TIFF’s advocacy and accomplishments
As part of their advocacy, the farm has organized training activities and seminars on agriculture especially on natural or organic farming and integrated farming. They also distribute start-up kits such as vegetable seeds and seedlings for the farmers in the community and also for those who are interested.
With all of the accomplishments of the farm, TIFF has been certified as a learning site for agriculture by ATI-Central Luzon. It has also received the good agricultural practices (GAP) certification that ensures that they are implementing standard agricultural practices and their products are safe to consume.
Tips for the future farming generation
When asked what piece of advice could she impart to others, she quipped, “Ang maipapayo ko sa gustong pumasok sa pagsasaka ay maging pasensyoso at matiyaga.” Rigene shared that it takes a lot of patience, dedication and hard work in the farming industry.
“Hindi madali ito, kasi it involves buhay ng mga tanim at hayop so kagaya ng ibang business, may risk din sa farming so kailangan ang dedikasyon at focus para makamit ang layunin na maging self-sufficient at maging tunay na agri-entrepreneur,” she added.
As someone who rose from the ranks in a private company, Rigene is not new to challenges and hard work. She quipped that farming involves a lot of risk, dedication and focus to become self-sufficient as an agri-entrepreneur.
She also imparted the importance in finding the right people, friends and companions in the agribusiness that will believe in your skills and support you in your endeavors. “Napakaimportante ng mga kaibigan at kasama sa hanapbuhay na nagtitiwala sa iyong kakayahan at sumusuporta sa aking adhikain,” she said.
Along with her friends especially her family, Rigene is not alone with her endeavor. As a family, they will brave all the challenges that will come their way and will develop the farm to become the best organic-based farm in the community.
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