There are many farmer-leaders in the country but only a few can be considered extraordinary. Only a few can claim to be the embodiment of such a title. Add Alex O. Aborita to that list.
When people think of having a successful life, it would almost always be for their own families. Planning for the good life of one’s family is hard enough, but to do that for the whole community is something else. This is what sets the 40-year old Alex Aborita or Kap Alex a cut above the rest. He wanted to be successful in farming for the sake of his family and the whole of Brgy. Villaconzoilo in Jaro, Leyte.
Successful farmer-leader in the making
He started his foray into farming early in life. The eldest of 13 children, he often went to work in the field with his father. This practice made him see the promise in tilling the land. Kap Alex’s passion for agriculture prodded him to go to school with the intention of going into farming full-time afterwards. He finished a degree in Bachelor of Agricultural Technology from the Visayas State University, Alangalang campus in 1996. From thereon, there was no stopping this determined man.
Being Leyte’s Outstanding Young Farmer in 1996, he was included in the Young Filipino Farmers Training Program in Japan (YFFTPJ). While there, he also participated in the ASEAN Young Farmer Leaders Training Program. The stint in Japan increased Kap Alex’s drive to promote agriculture. Having lived in Brgy. Villaconzoilo all his life, Kap Alex dreamed big for his community. He ventured into politics and became a barangay councilor. Later on, he became the 3-term barangay captain. He saw these positions in the barangay as his opportunity to share the knowledge and technologies he learned to create a sustainable livelihood for the people. Perhaps it was easy for the people of Villaconzoilo to put their trust in Kap Alex for he had set a good example to them.
Awards continued to pour in for the young farmer as people took notice of his success and that of his community. These included the Regional Gawad Saka finalist (2012), Outstanding Vegetable Farmer (2014), and one of the Top 10 Outstanding Young Farmers of the Philippines (2014) of the Junior Jaycees.
Organizing for community success
Brgy. Villaconzoilo is the last upland barangay of Jaro, Leyte. Kap Alex smiles as he describes it, “We are the last frontier here. Brgy. Villaconzoilo is the last barangay of Jaro. That is why progress was slow in coming to the barangay. There used to be problems here on peace and order. This community also needed a sustainable livelihood.” The community relies mostly on agriculture as 70% of its residents are into farming.
Under the leadership of Kap Alex, the Villaconzoilo Community Farmers Association (VILCOA) was established in 2009 with just 7 hectares. It became fully operational in 2010. With just 18 members and ₱1,800 as capital, VILCOA planted high valued vegetables and fruits like lettuce, cucumbers, tomato, onion, watermelon, sweet pepper, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, radish, pechay, and eggplant. The VILCOA farm have started practicing organic farming. In 2016, the membership has grown to a strong 38 with a farm area of 25 hectares; 20.2 ha owned by the association and 4.8 ha Kap Alex’s own. In terms of capital, VILCOA is now worth almost ₱20M. They did this thru their “plant-now-pay-later” scheme.
Kap Alex explains, “The whole farm is divided into sections. Different members take care of each section by planting diverse crops at specified intervals. This way, we can harvest crop(s) almost every month. The members pay back the cost of the seeds the association has provided them plus a certain percentage after they have sold their harvest.”
Kap Alex’s approach to his farming is a healthy mix of practicality and all that he has learned from school and other established organic agriculture practitioners. One senses this as he explains why certain technologies or crops are not grown in the farm. He reckons that they need to focus on what can be feasibly grown in the farm which also has a high demand in the market. Take for example his use of tomato cuttings instead of seeds. This allowed them to save money for other farm inputs. When he perfected the technology, he suggested they use it in the farm.
Aside from crops, VILCOA has integrated into their farming system a 136-head piggery. Kap Alex says, “Although the vegetables are 100% organic, our piggery is still 75% organic since we still add commercially-bought feeds. Hopefully, we can go organic once we are able to establish our own source of corn. By then, we will be producing our own feed mix.” The farm also has ponds where they grow red and black tilapia.
VILCOA markets its produce in Jaro, its neighboring towns, and in the cities of Tacloban and Ormoc. They supply the Fresh Depot of Robinson’s Place Tacloban with salad vegetables. Early this year, VILCOA signed a MOA with the Max’s Group of Companies to supply their chain of restaurants in the region with vegetables. Should the supplies be enough, there is a possibility of distributing the produce to Max’s Cebu or Manila.
Group struggles
Like other farmer’s associations, VILCOA also experienced problems. The most damaging of which was brought by the super typhoon Yolanda. Just as their hard work was starting to pay off in 2013, Yolanda came and destroyed most of what they have put up. The farm was declared totally damaged.
Despite the dire circumstances, Kap Alex and some members of VILCOA braved the distance of around 74 km from Jaro to Ormoc City, Leyte on foot after the typhoon. They bought seeds from the money they had left. They did not waste any time in rehabilitating the farm. They also received farm inputs from private and government organizations. It was no wonder that in January of 2014, more than a month after Yolanda, VILCOA was the first among the many farms in Leyte to supply vegetables.
The Yolanda experience taught Kap Alex to be proactive. Hence, he had his own farm insured and encouraged the association to do so as well. He also taught his members not to rely solely on dole outs and to work hard for the money.
Agri-tourism in sight
One can expect more achievements for Kap Alex and VILCOA. This hardworking farmer-leader continues to be very active in sharing his expertise with others. More so now that he has tied up with the Agricultural Training Institute-Regional Training Institute 8 (ATI-RTC 8) which has started to tap him and the farm for some of the Center’s activities and advocacies. Kap Alex also attends trainings to further hone his farming skills and add more to the technology pool of VILCOA. The farm has also started to accept students from Visayas State University, Alangalang campus for their on-the-job training.
Kap Alex proudly shares the plans for the farm, “Years from now, visitors will come and see a different VILCOA farm. We hope to engage in agri-tourism. So far, farmers and interested individuals have started to come and look at the farm hoping to learn from the technologies we have here. To accommodate them, we have built a training hall. We also plan to build a facility for those who want to spend the night in the farm.” For agri-tourism, the farm is intensively reinventing its landscape.
Kap Alex literally put Jaro’s last frontier, Brgy. Villaconzoilo, on the map as more and more people are taking notice of their successes. This attention is also instrumental to the concreting of farm-to-market roads, making the barangay more accessible to development projects from the local government.
Kap Alex has proven that when people help each other, they can achieve greater things. His dedication to change the lives of the people in his community is remarkable. It seems that he would never tire of learning and sharing his knowledge. Though he has delegated certain responsibilities to other VILCOA members, his constant presence in the farm has assured them that he will never leave them behind. Wherever he goes, he brings with him not his own successes but that of the association.
When asked what contributed to the successes of VILCOA, he simply attributed it to the cooperation, trust, and commitment of each member of the community. But others would surely agree that Kap Alex is an important element in the community’s road to success. Kap Alex and VILCOA, theirs is an example of what true leadership should be.
*Disclaimer: Conversations mentioned in the article were translated from the vernacular (Waray) to English.
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