I arrived home in Manila with 1 sack of rice, 6 kilos each of pork and chicken, 4 kilos of seafood variety, 3/4 sack full of green bananas, 2 boxes of quail eggs, 1/2 sack of sweet corn, 1 box of romaine lettuce, and other fruits and vegetables.

All of these came from my province in Batangas. Not all of them came from my land though. Some were given as gifts from fellow farmers and some were bought at a very low price.
Believe me, it took almost half an hour just to unload these farm produce out of our car.

These produce by the way will last for more than a week for me and my family. Not only we save some money, but we are secured to know that we are eating fresh and organic food.

Wouldn’t it be nice if all of us have “Free Food” from our source of land not so far away from our home?
Wouldn’t it be nice that we don’t have to go to the grocery that often?
Wouldn’t it be nice if the food that we are eating is potent and organic? Giving us the healthy lifestyle that we badly needed.

The Philippines has been blessed with rich lands and abundant of rich marine life. However, we failed to take advantage of these. We barely export our products and the sad part of it we need to import some basic commodities (like rice) from other countries where supposedly we have more than enough to provide to our countrymen.

We don’t also get enough support from our government and some farmers are forced to sell their lands at a cheap price to convert it to more residential properties to our skyrocketing population.
The lack of subsidy and education has diverted the attention of most farmers and landowners to other income-producing assets.

If the government won’t help us, why don’t we help ourselves?
We have the means to convert our idle lands to something useful. It doesn’t need to be on a large commercial scale.
A land for personal consumption would suffice.

Just look around you. We have food everywhere.
Do you know that I saw lots of empty building attics and empty lots in EDSA while I was riding the MRT train?
Imagine if we convert those building rooftops for Cherry Tomato and Eggplant farm areas. Or create Chicken cages for laying our favorite brown eggs.
If we can sustain these, it will possible to eliminate the greedy middlemen for overpricing the supposedly cheap farm produce.
Sometimes I wonder why strawberries from Benguet province cost so much when is not that really far from Manila? We need to change this corrupt and disgraceful system.
It’s up to us ordinary citizens to improve that. We should not allow this freaky old fashioned system to continue to the next generation.

My family on my Mom’s side (Martinez Clan) was fortunate to have multiple Agricultural lands in the province of Batangas. There were varieties of farm from each family member. But most of those are sugarcane plantation back in the day.
But slowly, most of these lands were sold, mortgaged, and even abandoned. The newer generation never got the interest to continue what their Grandparents started.

I made it a point to save some of those Agri lands. Not only for me but for my children and my future grandchildren.
Until now, I never stop doing Agricultural business ventures. May it be mine alone, partnership, or even be-friending strangers who have a promising Agri project that needs boosting and more exposure on the internet.

As far as I know, Agriculture is the only business that never gets obsolete. No matter how advanced we get, agriculture will always be a necessity for mankind.
We eat 3 times a day (sometimes more). If we didn’t give priority to Agriculture, what will we become of us?

If you think you are too old or too busy to create one Agri project for you… then why don’t you help a local farmer.
Not only did you able to help our economy but you will also get to bring home their fresh produce. Teach your children if you must. Whether it’s Rabbitry, Insect cultivation, or Urban farming.

Trust me, I grew up in a family where there is so much food to go around that you have to invite other people to come in in order to consume all of it.
Our home had too much mangoes that we have to give away some of them. When you have lands and make good use of it, it could really benefit you and your family.

And for those who don’t have any…. you don’t need to worry. You can plant a few vegetables in recyclable pots and pans in your small balcony. Good enough to go with your favorite pasta dishes.

And if one person does that, and then another, and then another, and then another.
We will be having a battalion of urban farmers who are making an enormous contribution to our society… therefore making it a “Sustainable Country”!