Rosario Griesser transformed an idle piece of land in Jordan, Gumaras into productive and sustainable farmland.
With the dedication of Rosario Griesser, owner and manager of Guimaras Wonders Farm in Alaguisoc, Jordan, Guimaras.
Starting meagerly in commercial farming since July 2001, Griesser, owner and manager of Guimaras Wonders Farm, shifted in the year 2007 to a more sustainable farming method after undergoing training on natural farming at the Department of Agriculture.
This spurred her continuous quest of learning to improve her operations through several training sessions from the DA, Department of Science and Technology, and Department of Trade and Industry.
Griesser put on top of her goals to get her farm certified under Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), wanting to ensure that the food she grows is safe, not only for her family and farm workers, but also for her customers and the community.
With help from the DA Western Visayas and the Guimaras Provincial Office for Agricultural Services (POAS), Griesser, her workers, and members of their cooperative were able to participate in an orientation on GAP.
With these, they learned the required standards and procedures such as proper waste management, recordkeeping, use of farm hygiene, use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and safe and responsible use of farm chemicals. GAP requires that only registered pesticides are used, applied correctly, and recorded, with enough time before harvest to ensure food safety.
While it took her three years to complete all the requirements because of limited manpower, she remained committed.
Now, her eight-hectare land in Guimaras grows 560 mango trees on seven hectares and various vegetables like cucumber, squash, ampalaya, upo, patola, and tomatoes in between the trees, while one hectare is reserved for Philippine native trees.
“Because of GAP, we learned to document all our farm activities. This helps us know if the farm is earning and if the food we produce is safe to eat,” said Griesser.
Getting the GAP certification also helped them in exporting their mangoes. She also hopes that, with the support of the DA- Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), they can soon enter the European market, especially in Italy.
She then encouraged other farmers to try GAP, noting that while the process can be challenging at the beginning, the support from various agencies is available.
“With DA and POAS’ help, I completed it. Now, more farmers see the benefits of safe products that sell faster and at better prices,” she said as an endnote.
Griesser’s experience only embodies the wonders of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), coupled with perseverance and proper support from line agencies, the farming community eventually reaps sustainable food and sweet success. (AAL/AGP/PIA 6 with reports from DA Western Visayas)
