The “Northern Gateway from Manila” offers more than its rich historic background, beautiful churches and inviting resorts.
Just an hour’s drive away from the metro, the proximity of Bulacan has developed the province as an industrial area. Still, agriculture and fisheries play a vital role in their economy especially in rural areas.
Farm tourism, also known as agritourism, is an emerging sector in many countries. Farms of all sizes showcase their crops and share best practices through workshops or consultations. What you can do aside from a farm tour varies: from seed planting to actual harvest.
On a rainy weekend, in a tour organized by Lakad Pamana, we visited two municipalities in Bulacan to farm hop.
First stop is Teodoro’s Farm, a small-scale farm in Bustos that cultivates oyster mushrooms, vegetables and poultry. Their mushrooms are sold either fresh per kilo or as a snack (crispy fried mushroom).
Flourish Farm in San Ildefonso offers trainings for those who intend to venture into mushroom production, which is a low-cost, high-yield business. They are also open for farm visits and consultation.
Flourish Farm
Basuit, San Ildefonso, Bulacan
Map | Facebook
From backyard planting to nine hectares of vegetable farming – that’s the story of Duran Farm, owned by Ms. Desiree Duran. It’s also a TESDA-accredited training center for agricultural crops production and trainers methodology as well as a cabin resort.
Duran Farm Agribusiness and Training Center Association
Salupungan-Basuit Road, San Ildefonso, Bulacan
Map | Facebook
We also did a side trip to Basuit Elementary School for an outreach, Daily Bread Organic Farm and Resort, and The Greenery before heading home.
Our country is blessed with agritourism destinations. It is my hope that schools will consider it as part of their immersion activities; in turn, spark the interest amongst the younger generation. Likewise, encourage people to engage in urban farming or agribusiness such as vegetable farming or mushroom production.