“Where is Jaiton?”

The agricultural technologist (AT) asked as the TCP 4 team visited his site in Adjid, Indanan, Sulu.

Where is Jaiton Jawali?

In his 0.5-ha vegetable area, Jaiton, a 5’4” man, could be difficult to find. He may be under the trellises of string beans, at the back of his makeshift house, or in the woods. He is always busy. He may be somewhere camouflaged by vegetable leaves. Good life for him is being with his family, and in his vegetable garden.

Always on the go

He lives to farm. He farms to live, to enjoy life. His half-hectare area is filled with vegetables. He has 400 hills of eggplant, 200 hills of pole sitao, some hills of sweet pepper, and fruit-bearing trees like santol. On the side, he’s drying up some string beans to serve as seed source for next planting and growing pechay seedlings. His days are always full. He loves vegetable farming.

And why not?

On the average, he earns P25,000 from eggplant, P18,000 from pepper, and P15,000 from string beans. These three vegetables are his bestsellers. Because of his vegetables, he now has good savings for his family.

“Jaiton has more money than us,” said Zenaida Pawaki, AT in Indanan.

To keep track of his expenditures and income, Jaiton writes everything in his record book. This way, he sees his earnings and draws strength from it.

What’s the secret?

A farmer must be very dedicated and industrious, said Jaiton. In his case, he spends most of his time in his farm so he sees if there are things needing action. He makes sure that he will not be pestered by insect pests and diseases.

Jaiton sprays soap mixed with water on his string beans to ward off bugs. If insect infestation is severe, he sprays pesticide as the last resort. He wants his vegetables to be free from chemicals, as much as possible.

He also uses attractant against fruit fly. He hangs it all over his bitter gourd garden to trap fruitflies.    

The TCP 4 advantage

If before, vegetable planting was never a profitable venture for him, the TCP 4 training taught him otherwise. Jaiton is thankful for his learned knowledge on vegetable production that has given him new hope to better their lives. He said his aspirations are quite simple. He just wants to see his children having decent jobs later, which do not necessarily have to be so grand. They can either be a teacher, extension worker, or a journalist. He would be blissful seeing all of them successful—something he’ll owe to his vegetables.

Now, where is Jaiton Jawali?

He is in Indanan, Sulu proving that productive farming, not just kidnapping for ransom, is possible.

Technical Cooperation Project 4 (TCP 4) or Rice-based farming system and training support program for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is a collaborative project of Japan International Cooperation Agency, PhilRice, and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries-ARMM.