A personal calling is God’s blessing.
For Cesar Tolentino, farmer and partner-seed grower of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Seed Program, he believes that his calling is to help fellow farmers achieve abundant harvest through better farm practices. This calling is a divine blessing that centers around the use of high-quality seeds.
Cesar, former chair of the municipal committee on agriculture, in Surallah, South Cotabato, underwent RCEF training in 2019 to help provide easy access to certified inbred seeds in their area.
“Despite my farming background, embracing new technologies was a challenge. I had to unlearn old practices,” shared Cesar, who has been involved in rice farming since the age of 10, guided by his father’s encouragement.
Cesar was a Rural Bank of Surallah manager and later served in the municipal council, eventually becoming the chair of the municipal committee on agriculture. He joined Binhian sa Timog Kutabato (BINTIKU), a local group of seed producers that now collaborates with the RCEF Seed Program.
Cesar has supplied 10,000kg of certified inbred seed to RCEF in this year’s dry season, which he produced with utmost care.
“RCEF has strict guidelines in seed production so I must ensure that the seeds I supply will yield a high germination rate,” he said.
To guarantee quality seed standard, he only gets planting materials from Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), which releases seeds that are tested and certified by the National Seed Quality Control Services.
He soaks the seeds for 48h then incubates it for 24h before planting.
Cesar also thoroughly prepares the field, ensuring that there are no high and low soil spots after final leveling. He follows the PalayCheck, an integrated rice production system with nine recommendations from variety and seed selection to postharvest management.
“I gained valuable knowledge from RCEF that are supplemented with handouts and booklets. We also underwent retooling every three years to ensure that we consistently produce high-quality seeds,” Cesar shared.
Cesar does not only practice his learnings. He also tests the learnings on his field to ensure that these can be applied in their area.
“Farmers never ran out of hard work. Some of us lack the access to resources we need. As I’m blessed to have participated in training programs and became an RCEF partner, I feel that it’s my calling to fill this gap through the high-quality seeds I produce and the knowledge I share,” he said.
They say that “passion is the driving force behind happiness that allows us to live better lives.” This passion is shown in his smile as he lives up to his calling of serving his fellow farmers.
