By agrimag
By Eula Dee Lañada
Photos by Aeron P. Bermudez
All his life, Mr. Gerardo Esteban, also known as Mang Gerry, was exposed to farming. He started when he was in his early childhood days, helping his parents in the paddies of rice fields and taking care of farm animals, the love for the craft was instilled to him and never left his system.
When he was building his own family, it was when he also started investing in his own farm He started selling onions until he was able to acquire a piece of land.
When Mang Gerry was building his own family, it was when he also started investing in his own farm.
With years of experience, he is one of the sought-after farmers with unique technology in his field, especially in livestock. He makes his own concoctions for animal feeds as well as silage. He claims that with his concoctions, the meat of his livestock is packed with rich flavor which people will drool over.
Mang Gerry also encourages other farmers and enthusiasts to venture into integrated farming. With this, there will be a bountiful supply of crops while waiting for the harvest of the main crop.
While touring around the farm, visitors would also enjoy lemon grass and pandan tea, oregano and moringa tea, and duhat and bignay wine, which are prepared by Mang Gerry’s lovely wife, Beng. They also offer chili paste, chili flakes, and bags of rice all from the farm. If you are celebrating a special occasion especially birthdays and Christmas, you can avail their roasted pigs too.
Mang Gerry showcases his machineries to the visitors: rice transplanter, hand tranctor, and mini 4-wheel tractor. Visitors would be able to know operate these once they leave the farm, you are a bit of a daredevil, they offer services such as petting and riding of water buffaloes.
Gerry’s Farm allows visitors to pet some of the animals on the farm.
Mang Gerry will also teach you on how to groom feed the sheep and pigs. Another activity is the rice and vegetable planting. These will definitely keep the visitors busy, forget their problems, learn more about the magnificence of agriculture, and enjoy the exquisite line-up of activities.
This article was first published as Gerry’s Farm in Vignette A Travelogue of Central Luzon’s Agritourism Sites from the Agricultural Training Institute Regional Training Center III.
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