KM’s Agro Ecology Farm

KM’s Agro Ecology Farm is an accredited learning site for farm tourism that ensures an integrated and diversified organic farming. It promotes regenerative form of agriculture. It is situated in Barangay San Narciso, Victoria, Oriental Mindoro with the land area of 4440 square meters. It is being run by its owners, the Sarmiento family (Kuya Jon and his wife, Ate Eden, and their children, Kristel, Kailah, Keziah, and Keira) with the help of their agriculture technician, Rodelyn. It has helped numerous farmers to transition from conventional to organic farming and facilitated income and environmental profit to the province. KM has a humble beginning. It was a part of a rich forest in Victoria when Kuya Jon’s father decided to convert it as rice fields. Later on, he took over and decided to convert it as a multi crop farm to adapt in the fast-paced climate change. Moreover, the desire of just wanting to provide a quality living for his family emerges into a new passion of environment preservation and an advocate of climate change adaptation and mitigation. Allying an extensive knowledge of indigenous and organic practices along with a strategic farm planning, the farm is structured in distinct components designed to maximize each other while a nutrient recycling system generates a virtuous close loop process on the farm. Biodiversity is intensified to multiply key ecological functions and processes, within and among the components, such as natural pest management and optimal use of sunlight, rainfall and soil fertility. From an increased occurrence of typhoon, floods and drought the family learned which plants and practices to privilege in order to build the resiliency of the farm, thus, reducing their vulnerability. As a result, family farmers produce quality organic products, including their own seeds and fertilizers, reducing their dependency from external inputs providers. Despite the fact that the farm is only 1/2 hectare, the food and nutrition needs of the family are amply fulfilled with a production including rice (black, red), pigs, poultry, goats, fishes, root crops, fruits, vegetables, culinary herbs, and feeds for livestock. An overall forty indigenous medicine plant varieties are grown, documented and used. An agro-forestry component provides woods for cooking and material to build/fix the other components, while acting as a climate regulator and enhancing favourable habitat for local wildlife. The human living area itself is a component as an entity on the farm with a learning centre and a farm-tourism facility. Local knowledge is valued and shared, and the provision of goods and services to visitors generate additional incomes for the family and the community, thus, fostering the local economy.