Banate farmers revive communal garden efforts

By Mariela Angella Oladive

The Abante Banate AMIA Village Farmers Association (ABAVFA) has revived its communal farming activities, with its 1.4-hectare garden in Banate, Iloilo, now producing eggplant, cucumber, kangkong, and pechay after a period of low participation and operations.

The vegetables harvested from the communal garden are sold at the local market and to municipal employees, with support from the local government.

Income from sales is reinvested in the farm, including the construction of a small hut used for meetings and rest, the purchase of materials, and the gradual expansion of planting areas.

The association’s renewed activity is being led by farmers Nonito Casiple, Joebert Conejo, and Jomarie Flores, who serve on the production committee.

The three farmers organize work schedules, share responsibilities among members, and jointly manage decisions related to planting, soil preparation, and resource use.

Banate was previously among the first 10 municipalities in the Philippines covered by the System-Wide Climate Change Office (SWACCO), later renamed the Climate Resilient Agriculture Office (CRAO), which promotes climate-resilient and sustainable farming systems.

The village earlier served as a model site visited by other farmer groups for benchmarking.

Momentum slowed after changes in leadership and the retirement of the municipal agriculture officer, who had no immediate replacement as focal person.

Some members became inactive, and collective participation declined.

Despite these challenges, the production committee sustained the communal garden and worked to restore participation.

Guided by the Adaptation and Mitigation Initiative in Agriculture (AMIA), the association adopted climate-resilient practices and began shifting toward organic farming.

The group now uses vermi tea, botanical concoctions, and vermicast to improve soil quality, although the transition has been gradual.

The association also unified eight local farmer groups under one federation.

Tasks are distributed based on members’ capacities, with heavier production work assigned to men and lighter but equally essential tasks handled by women.

With regular harvests and steady sales, ABAVFA has resumed plans to expand its production area.

The association is also exploring the possibility of supplying vegetables to the Iloilo Central Market, as it continues efforts to rebuild collective participation and strengthen sustainable farming practices in the community.