Considering the rising population and climate change impact, food security and sustainability remain top priorities for the local agriculture industry. While the government and other organizations are implementing programs and policies to address these concerns, Ibit’s Farm in Barangay Masicong, San Fernando, La Union, is taking necessary steps to help meet the common goal.
Manuel Gurion Acosta, a retired civil engineer, runs the farm. Ibit’s Farm draws its name from his wife, Marilene C. Acosta, who encouraged the farm operations to begin in 2016.
“The farm is purpose-driven kasi gusto naming makatulong sa mga farmers,” Acosta told Manila Standard Agriculture.
As a former civil engineer, Acosta didn’t have experience with farming. But this didn’t stop him from learning through workshops, pieces of training, and seminars from the Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Training Institute. He took these lessons to heart and eventually encouraged other farmers to attend the sessions with him to gain more insight into farming.
It didn’t take long for the Acostas to develop and implement their “Adopt a Farmer and its Family” program, which aims to empower and improve the social well-being of farmers in their community.
They managed to adopt five families before the pandemic halted their progress. Now that things have returned to normal, the Acostas plan to intensify their efforts again and encourage more farmer operators to guide small farmers toward proper farming practices.
Ibit’s Farm practices organic farming to promote sustainability in all their farming operations. However, this wasn’t easy to teach to other farmers, even the ones they adopted.
“Nasanay kasi sila sa conventional farming. In organic farming, we feed the soil. Sila, nasanay sila sa feed the plant,” Acosta shared.
Still, Acosta wanted them to learn that even though organic farming takes longer to bear results, it provides better, healthier options for consumers. It’s also a long-term solution that gives back to the environment and helps mitigate the impacts of climate change.
He emphasized their need to adapt to modern techniques and technology because these will help them maintain their farm operations and tap larger markets. One ideal example is using social media because it helps connect farmers to consumers with just a few clicks.
Ibit’s Farm is also a Department of Tourism-accredited farm tourism site and offers a pick-and-pay experience to guests. More importantly, the farm teaches its visitors their operations so they can better appreciate what farmers do for them and their role in food security.
Acosta hopes that more people, especially farm owners and even private individuals, can discover the relevance of adopting farmers and their families to help them succeed in the industry.
Throughout his years as a farmer and implementing their “Adopt a Farmer and its Family” program, Acosta relished helping the country become food secure while watching other local farmers lead better lives because someone supported them.
