Leisure farming at Haciendas de Sto. Tomas

MANILA, Philippines - Ortigas affiliate Concrete Aggregates Corporation (CAC) brings the concept of leisure farming, community partnerships, and sound agricultural practices together in a newly launched development, Hacienditas de Sto. Tomas, located in Sto. Tomas, Batangas. Hacienditas is CAC’s first leisure farm project that will make use of a European business model in creating a synergy between its stakeholders: from the lot owners, agriculture students, and distributors.

Hacienditas de Sto. Tomas is a 9.7-hectare property, a 30-minute drive from Manila and accessible via the South Luzon Expressway and Star Tollway. It is lined with full-grown mahogany trees around the perimeter with a rich topsoil ideal for high-yield organic crops. 

The property will be divided into 60 farm lots, each the size of 1,000 to 1,400 square meters. Of the total area per lot, only 25 percent is allotted for residential purposes and the rest is dedicated to cultivable land. Hacienditas de Santo Tomas is also equipped with basic recreational facilities such as a clubhouse, parks, jogging paths, and walkways. It will also house sports utilities, a spa, restaurants, convenience stores, and a commercial trading post, where part of the farmland’s produce would be sold.

Sto. Tomas, Batangas is a growth area in trade and tourism because of its rich biodiversity, well-preserved forests and aquatic resources. Still, the local economy is supported largely by agriculture, to which CAC wishes to inject some capital. With the construction of the hacienditas comes an indispensible partnership with the community.

“Most weekend farmers are usually excited about their leisure farm purchase until after a year, when they realize the effort it takes to maintain it,” says CAC CEO, Noel Rapadas. “Without the time and proper training of lot owners, some weekend farms have gone from rich to bare.”

With the new model, CAC aims to stimulate cooperation with different stakeholders to include the lot owners, an agricultural school, and an agricultural distributor. At Hacienditas, lot owners will have their lots taken under the care of agriculture students, who are taught modern and scientific ways of organic farming.

“Agriculture is a very profitable activity except that farmers have no access to the market,” adds Rapadas. Farm produce would be sold via the hacienditas trading post and an agricultural distributor, thereby completing the trail, from seeding, growing crops, to distribution. Profits will then be split between the lot owner and the farmer. Among CAC’s construction priorities is the single-building agricultural school within the property set to begin in 2012.

For more information, call 818-8983 and 8160250 or log on to www.Hacienditias.com.ph.