The roads to Happy Farm in Macrohon, Southern Leyte gave life to the proverbial belief that finding happiness is not easy. To share the story of the farm meant traversing the narrow and winding roads which lead to a quaint barangay in a valley behind Mt. Tangub, just where could “happiness” be. Upon reaching the barangay, one still has to walk a few meters more before witnessing for himself what “happy” means.
All in the Family
Happy Farm is owned by Mr. Juanito Millan Sr. and wife Cecilia. The couple has been farmers all their lives and has brought up their 4 children by tilling the earth. Like any typical farm in the Philippines, the family struggled to make ends meet yet the couple made sure to send their children to school. Cecilia would go around the neighborhood to sell vegetables and cut flowers. The siblings Juanito Jr., Jocelyn, Jazpher, and Jay grew up with the love for farming.
Juanito Jr. would eventually end up an Agriculturist and work for their municipality’s Agriculture Office. His younger brothers, Jazpher and Jay, would, later on, profess their own love for farming leading to a sort of reawakening for the farm. As Juanito Jr. would put it, “It was not easy for us siblings to become this involved in our farm”. Like other typical youth, his brothers were at first not that into farming. It would take outside forces to make the Millan brothers the real driving force for Happy Farm.
The Millan brothers opened up to the possibilities in agriculture by joining training and seminars and establishing a strong network with fellow farmers. Training such as those conducted by the Agricultural Training Institute Regional Training Center 8 (ATI RTC 8) allowed them to learn new knowledge and skills in agriculture. Farm visits also allowed them to see technologies adopted by other farmers that may be applicable to their own farm in Macrohon. From there, the Millan brothers started to see a bigger and better future for their farm.
Building “Happy”
Happy Farm is nestled in a valley between sloping areas of coconut trees in Bagong Silang, Macrohon, Southern Leyte. Macrohon is a 4th class municipality in Southern Leyte with 30 barangays. Agriculture and fishery remain the main economies in the municipality.
Farming may be the Millan family’s bread and butter but Juanito Jr. admits he found their past farm practices opposite with what he has learned in school. He knew that if the farm is to grow and increase its production, change must happen. He then convinced his father to try new technologies and strategies in farming. It was not easy to convince the Millan patriarch but with the insistence of his sons, slowly, the farm started to consider new prospects even with crops to plant in the farm.
At present, Happy Farm cultivates rice, different high-value crops such as tomato, lettuce, bell peppers, eggplant, bitter gourd, cucumber, herbs, and cut flowers. Happy Farm is an advocate of organic agriculture. They engage in organic farming to ensure safe and healthy produce for everyone. Happy Farm has focused its production primarily on salad staples such as lettuce and tomato as these are gaining ground among health enthusiasts.
In 2017, Happy Farm became one of ATI RTC 8’s Learning Site (LS). ATI RTC 8 saw Happy Farm as worthy of emulation and should share their technologies with other farmers and interested individuals. Their farm became a venue for hands-on training or on-the-job instruction to complement instruction in school or in training. Farmers and extension workers from other municipalities have been paying visits to benchmark on the farm’s best practices.
With their performance, ATI RTC 8 elevated Happy Farm as a School for Practical Agriculture (SPA) in 2019. As an SPA, Happy Farm is now a “school in the field” for farmers and interested individuals as it has the basic facilities for the conduct of training and other activities.
Instrumental as well to the success of Happy Farm is the Municipal Agriculture Office of Macrohon. Happy Farm was provided with technical know-how in making organic farm inputs such as wood vinegar. Through Municipal Agriculturist Isabel Enriquez, the Millan family was taught basic bookkeeping so they can easily manage the farm.
Staying “Happy”
One of the strategies employed by Happy Farm is showcasing just how cool agriculture or farming can be. The Millan family has created Happy Farm not just as a production area but a place where people can come, pick fresh produce and pay at farm gate prices. In addition, they can marvel at how easy and rewarding planting one’s own food can be. Another feature of the farm is that visitors can partake of safe and pest-free produce served fresh or as ingredients to food served at the restaurant.
People are starting to give agriculture a second look and more are going back to basics. These give Happy Farm a sure market. Farm visitors enjoy their time while there. Hence, Happy Farm has aptly been accredited as Agri-Tourism Farm Site by the Department of Tourism in Region 8. With the aesthetics at Happy Farm, it has even become a venue for pre-nuptial photo sessions prompting the Millan family to incorporate prenup packages. The family continues to capacitate themselves with knowledge and skills in farming. They have created engagements through social media for promotion and marketing of the farm and their produce. Future plans include a campsite for visitors planning for overnight stays and an obstacle course for those who would like to integrate physical activities after indulging in farm activities such as the pick-and-pay option.
The Millan family is seeing a brighter prospect for Happy Farm. This is because of the hard work, passion, and commitment of the family members. However, more than the values of a farm family that the Millans exemplify, it is their strong faith in God that binds them together to continue with their advocacy and plans for Happy Farm. No task is so hard for the Millan family as they speak, think, and act in harmony with their love for agriculture and love for God.
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