Farming in the Philippines
Farming in the Philippines is a very diverse business with many varied crops from growing fruits such as mangos and coconuts,growing rice, pig stock, goat stock, dairy farming, Pig breeding, chicken breeding, egg farming, fisheries for crabs or fish to name but a few. But one thing is for sure many struggle due to the hold that certain families that own the corporations have on animal feed stocks. Which I find a little bizarre due to the land being prime for farming in most locations with some application will work. Its not an easy thing to start from scratch and I strongly advise getting some knowledge from the people that already farm. The pros and cons of certain crops and animals has to be weighed up and also your location. From talking to some Expats ive heard many stories in difficulties locating staff that wont steal. So are you able to manage a farm on your own if you had to? Maybe a smaller working project would be better and to expand with time. With Rice farming getting neighbours help for a cut of the value of the crop has worked well for some. The problem with fish and live stock is it can be stolen. Unlike the UK where getting rid of a goat or pig would be difficult unless you knew a local butcher or slaughterman the Philippines most people have an understanding of where meat comes from and it isnt a box or packet from a supermarket. So killing it is a part of life which means in a land of 70% of the people in poverty meat that can feed a family for a month is a strong temptation. Hopefully the forum will start filling with advice on farming and avoiding thefts aswell as the ability to cross sell stocks to each other.
Where do I fit into this you may wonder. Well there are two projects I have a keen interest in at the moment and thats goats and catfish (odd mix I know). But reading up on them I realise there is a market for both these products and with the goats my wifes family have kept some in the past although having a large herd will be a new experience for us all. The goat house I will be providing photos and drawings for so that you make your own or supply to some workers to build. I will also include the positives and negatives about the building so you can adapt yours to make it better than mine :) like most things in life its realising where the mistakes are to strive for perfection. Also there will be an E-Book section available for free on the farming subjects except for maybe the odd few which will be ones ive spent a long time developing. But everything else I find on the net is free for all unless someone states they dont want it distributing.
