An innovative way of planting crops

Raise the crops!

This literally is what farmers from the sleepy town of Guihulngan in Negros Oriental are doing practically to maximize the produce of every available lot used for planting.

The method, called five-story farming, was developed by researchers at the University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB) who conceived the innovative way of planting crops. It calls for horizontal positioning of plants up to five-story high.

Using long bamboo stakes as framework as well as canopy for each layer of the five-story garden, Guihulngan farmers were able to "plant" varieties of vegetables, thus maximizing their crop produce.

UPLB Director Dr. Jose Medina said his researchers introduced this new kind of farming for families with limited space for planting. "The five-story farming is economical in space because the plants are provided with bamboos where they grow instead of swarming on the ground and occupying a large space," Medina said.

Department of Agriculture technician Mario Gonzales said the five-story farming, which was started by the Guihulngan farmers middle of last year, is now reaping beneficial results. A 20-square meter lot which used to yield some 20 kilos of produce now produces at least 700 kilos of crops using the new method, Gonzales said. "This is a big boost to the farmers and their families’ income and food on the table," he added.

The farming method is a joint project of the UPLB researchers and the Guihulngan local government. Medina said the method has been tried and tested before among the indigenous tribes in the country such as the Tigbanuas in Palawan and the Dumagats in Quezon province.

According to Gonzales, vegetables like ampalaya, upo, patola, kalabasa, sili, eggplant, petchay, tomato, okra, string beans, alugbate, gabi, spinach and mustasa could be cultivated in the five-story farming. The ground is planted with leafy vegetables, while the succeeding layers are devoted to vines or climbing plants.

Organic farming is incorporated in the five-story method where only natural method of cultivating crops is used. Crops are grouped according to their responses to light so that the top layer plants will not affect the photosynthesis process of the plants below.

Growth stages of the plants involved in the five-story structure are also carefully monitored to achieve simultaneous harvesting. "In this kind of farming, timing is important so as not to disturb the maturing process of plants," Medina explained.

Gonzales said the presence of various plants in the structure also helps drive away plant pests since pests attracted to one variety of plants are driven away by the scents emitted by another variety. "Nahihilo sila kaya para na ring may built-in insect spray ka sa mga tanim," he added.

Medina said other materials can be used in the five-story farming like steel rods, as long as the plants can climb on it. However, farmers should see to it that there is good drainage in the structure to prevent drowning of crops.

Aside from monetary gain, other benefits derived from the method are: the source of food indirectly answers the families’ cash flow, family ties are strengthened because of close working relationship, and the participants’ self-confidence is boosted due to self -initiative.

Due to the success of the project, Nonie Amolo, a Manila resident, has even allowed her piece of lot in Sitio Pisok in Guihulngan to be a pilot area for the five-story farming in the area.