BYP

SS
BACKYARD PROJECT OF AGRICULTURE
SQuarantine
TUDENTS storiesSand experiences
TAYING ATofHOME
Agriculture students enrolled at
Cagayan State University-Sanchez Mira campus highlighting their
agriculture related activities hoping to shed inspiration to other people
especially the youth to become more productive and pro-active in their
respective homes even during crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.
HOW ‘BYPASS ‘’BYPASS is an
initiative to make

CHALLENGE’
the quarantine
period of the
participating
students to be

STARTED worthwhile by
engaging some
Rex Saleng Dullit, Instructor I of their time in
Faculty Member, Cagayan State University Sanchez Mira agriculture.’’

Apart from DA’s

It started as a dare. #Plantplantplant
initiative, this
Just two weeks after the government declared the
initiative was
Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) across inspired by
the country, my inbox was bombarded with ARUBAYAN an
messages from my students on what will happen extension project
conceived by the
on their programmed calendar of activities for the
College of
semester in the succeeding weeks. I cannot give Agriculture of
them on point answers as to what will happen next. Cagayan State
What I am certain is, we will still be preparing our University in
respective lessons in all our Sanchez Mira.
subjects. That’s it. We will ARUBAYAN
still be giving lessons and stands for
continue to reach out for our
students so they may be Alternative
Resource
able to cope up on the Utilization for
remaining lessons on all Backyard
subjects. Agri-crops
Yield
Advancement
Having students enrolled in Network. .
Agricultural subjects that
include some field works or
field activities prompted me
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BYPASS STORIES OF AGRICULTURE STUDENTS AT
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 to ask myself, 'What other engaging activities to assign in my class?' Later
on, I read an article from the official page of the Department of Agriculture
(DA) about their Plant Plant Plant program. This gave me an idea on what
activity to assign my students.

The next morning, I asked my students via

Facebook group chat (commonly called ‘GC’ among
millennials) to send me photos of their backyard and the
surroundings of their home. Some sent me video house
tour. After that, I dared them, 'Do you have anything in ‘’With the
mind to transform your backyard way better than what it is hope to find
today?' Hence, the BYPASS challenge was born. a bypass
route on the
The abovementioned challenge was a dare to my blocked
students to transform and upgrade their respective roads of
backyards. Participating students were allowed to put up scholastic
an agricultural project of their choice. In this manner, they activities of
will be able to appreciate their learning’s from the four my class,
walls of the classroom. this initiative
will
somehow
serve be
instrumental
so students
can still
continue
learning and
at the same
experiencing
their lessons
right at their
own pace.’’

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BYPASS STORIES OF AGRICULTURE STUDENTS AT
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 As activities, gatherings and establishments were literally closed and
people were advised to stay safe and sane at home while the country is still
under National Health Emergency due to the novel corona virus scare or

the SARS-COV19 pandemic and having no clear date as to when the

green light be resumed or lifted, I encouraged my students to unbox what they
learned in my subject (and even in other subjects) and apply it in their homes.

Anyway, while browsing the internet, I come across on the Googled definition of
the word ‘bypass’. This is the secondary channel or connection to allow a flow
when the main one is closed or blocked. The aforementioned definition is timely
especially this time of crisis, wherein most of our daily routines were affected.
With the hope to find a bypass route on the blocked roads of scholastic
activities of my class, this initiative will somehow stimulate the urge of students to
still continue learning and at the same time experiencing their lessons right at
their own pace.

The latest report released by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) , shows a two-
fold increase in number of families suffering from hunger in the past months due
to this pandemic. This is alarming, as the government barely struggles to provide
budget allocation for food and protection to the affected families. Thus, this
initiative, the BYPASS challenge will somehow help make alternative source of
safe and nutritious food supply in the households of the participating students.
This too will help motivate other members of the family and even their
neighborhood to produce their own food right at home. This way, together,
everybody will bypass or overcome this calamity successfully.

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BYPASS STORIES OF AGRICULTURE STUDENTS AT
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CONTEN
TS
REVVING UP WHILE REACHING OUT
Reymark
Reymark ‘Mark’
‘Mark’ R.
R. Ruatos
Ruatos

GARDENING FOR SELF-SUFFICIENCY

Rowena
Rowena Santiago
Santiago Quilala
Quilala

BLENDING RECYCLING AND GARDENING

Maria
Maria Therese
Therese Pascua
Pascua Estorquia
Estorquia

TURNING BACKYARD INTO MAINYARD

Jonathan
Jonathan Macugay
Macugay

WHEN GARDENING TURNS INTO A HOBBY

Mybel
Mybel Campos
Campos Agamanos
Agamanos

GARDENING WHILE EXPERIMENTING

Steve
Steve James
James Samalio
Samalio

VEGETABLE GARDENING AS FAMILY

BONDING
Dexter
Dexter Dulay
Dulay Bassiag
Bassiag

TENDING A GARDEN DURING QUARANTINE

Felix
Felix John
John Dela
Dela Cruz
Cruz

A VERDANT TRANSFORMATION
Shella
Shella Mae
Mae Pangramuyen
Pangramuyen

TRIMMING SOCMED TIME THROUGH

GARDENING
Suzette
Suzette Garcia
Garcia Macagga
Macagga
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BYPASS STORIES OF AGRICULTURE STUDENTS AT
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 PLANTING MORINGA FOR FENCE AND FOR FOOD
Winsel James Lacap

THE WONDERS OF GARDENING

Maureen Joy Dancil

TOPPING PEPPERS FOR INCREASING YIELD

Imee Joy Agustin

GARDENING FOR THE SOUL

Hazel Joy Viernes Arnaldo

KEEPING UP WITH CORN

Ferick Jay Coloma Fronda

LOCKDOWN GARDEN, A GUARD FOR GOOD AND SAFE FOOD

Jee Bel

RUBBING SOIL FOR RABBIT FOOD

Apyang Apyang Llanes

BATTLING FLYING PEST BY HANGING BOTTLES

Rex S. Dullit

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

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BYPASS STORIES OF AGRICULTURE STUDENTS AT
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INTRODUCTION
We are living in times of dynamic educational transformation in
which teachers are being challenged to respond to rapidly evolving
system confronting the academe. With the current global pandemic,
teachers too are being challenged to meet the ever-mutating needs of
students. Simultaneously, and in response to the issues affecting our
students, we are being presented with a multiplicity of ideas, theories
and techniques.

Both teachers and students are perpetually being bombarded by

a plethora of scholastic activities. From face to face discussion, classes
were shifted to the online world. Good thing, most parts of the country
has already an access to the internet and most students own a
smartphone and other gadget making hybrid studying possible.

‘’I believe this

activity will
also
showcase
student’s
ingenuity and
creativity.’’

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To at least break the monotony of scrolling through the screens every
time students are required for attend online classes or to complete
certain academic requirements, the author decided to come up with an
activity that do otherwise. Daring to establish a small agriculture project
in their homes during quarantine period and utilizing available
resources in their surroundings and at the same time maximizing open
spaces of their home, I believe this activity will also showcase student’s
ingenuity and creativity. Apart from technology transfer from school to
the household, such would also develop student confidence and
strengthen their bonds within the family as the involvement of other
family members during project establishment is highly encouraged and
recommended.

Aside from student’s backyard projects, activities usually done by

participating students were also featured. Activities like raising farm
animals, using farm machineries and learning how to do certain
agricultural works were also included. This just proves that learning is
not only bounded within the quadrangle of an academic institution as
this can be obtained our homes too.

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REVVING UP WHILE
REACHING OUT
AN AGRI-QUARANTINE STORY OF REYMARK RUATOS
17, APARRI, CAGAYAN

As a child, Reymark has been exposed doing farmworks tending crops and
raising livestock. But deep inside, this is not what he wants. In fact, when he was
young, he dreamt of becoming a teacher – the one who usually go to school,
well-groomed, teaching kids in the school.

Before, he never thought of becoming a farmer, more so on taking

Agriculture as his collegiate degree. This is partly due to the perception of the
people around him about farming. Most people viewed farming as ‘poor man’s
job’ primarily because of the dirty hands and smelly sweat of the farmers brought
by working all day in the field. Worse, only few of the younger people dared to go
farming because some parents do not even allow their children to do the ‘heavy
work.’

‘’Napakarami pong
oportunidad na maari
nating makuha sa pag-
aagrikultura.’’
-Reymark Ruatos

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BYPASS STORIES OF AGRICULTURE STUDENTS AT
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 In Reymarks’ case, his viewpoint about farming started to change as time
goes by. It started during his grade school days; they were required to maintain a
plot in their school garden. As supervised by their teacher, he learned to sow
pechay seeds and plant other kinds of ornamental plants and flowers around the
school yard. But it was during his high school days that he realized his love for
farming. Having enrolled in a Technical Vocational School in their municipality
with Agri-fisheries as his major has paved way for him to appreciate the ‘works’ in
the farm. He learned planting different kinds of crops. Every weekend or during
vacation, he goes to the rice-field helping his parents in the farm work. It was
also during those years that he learned to raise native chickens and native pigs.
He somehow agrees that farm activities are more laborious but having a hands-
on exposure in the work has ignited his passion and appreciation in agriculture.

Even before he pursued his BS in Agriculture degree at Cagayan State

University last 2018, Reymark has already passed 3 NC-II Agri-fishery related
certificates from TESDA. He has NC-II certificates in the following qualifications -
Crop Production, Pest Management and Organic
Agriculture Production which manifests his love,
passion and dedication in studying Agriculture.

Free-ranged native chicken of Reymark. These chicken were raised in their backyard.

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‘I think is important that the younger generation must be given a clear
understanding about agriculture and they must be informed that there is a
greener future in this sector.’ Reymark uttered.

In a report by PhilRice, the average age of Filipino farmer is 54. This means, that
in the incoming decades, our country will run out of people working in the farm.
The aging farmers across the country suggest an urgent call for a new breed of
farmers who will look after the field. Unfortunately, only a handful the youth today
want to go in the farm as they are more attracted to find blue or white collar jobs
in urban areas.

The flock of his former classmates enrolling into business and education
degree courses did not stop Reymark to choose Agriculture as his course. In
every skill and knowledge he gained from CSU, he knew right that these are all
useful in becoming an accomplished scientifically minded agriculturist. In fact, he
gladly shared that he earns his own money while studying. Thanks to his hobby
in raising domesticated animals he get to earn a minimum of 4 digit sales a
month!

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 Reymarks story is a manifestation that Agriculture is not only for the old
and mature people but for the youth and students too. He cited that his
immersion at Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) for 2 months has revved up
his insights on agriculture. ‘Napakarami pong oportunidad na maari nating
makuha sa pag-aagrikultura.’ There are innumerable opportunities in
Agriculture. He informed. Tulad nag pag-aalaga na mga iba’t ibang hayop,
pagtatanim ng mga gulay, pagkakabute, at pagproseso ng mga iba’t ibang
pagkain. He told me that he never had regretted his choice after all.
Kailangan mo lang talaga ay diskarte, sipag at tiyaga para siguradong panalo
ka sa iyong pinasok na gawain. He said.

With health emerging as the paramount priority when it comes to

COVID19 pandemic, the countries around the world must also keep the global
food supply chain alive in order to protect the most vulnerable. In our country,
the Department of Agriculture Plant Plant Plant program is an initiative to urge
people to plant and grow their own food not only to fight the food scarcity and
hunger but also to fight COVID19. Having an assured source of safe and
nutritious food for the family is a step forward in winning the fight against the
COVID19 crisis.

It is in this reason that Reymark gladly accepted the BYPASS challenge.

He said he utilized his backyard in raising free-ranged chicken. He is happy
and excited to show and inspire other people to raise farm animals. He helps
neighbors by sharing his leanings and experiences. In fact he entertains and
accommodates some people who seek his advice on minor concerns and
issues about poultry raising. Aside from his poultry, he diversifies his
agriculture venture raising swine and planting vegetables. This way, he have
diverse source of food and income for the household during the quarantine.

Going back to chicken, why free-ranged? He mentioned that preferred to

allow the chicken to grow in their natural instinct since these animal loves to
eat weed seeds, insects and grasses. Upon recalling what his teacher told in
Animal Science class, he confirmed that the meat of free-ranged chicken is
indeed better than those chickens grown inside the cages Apart from that, he
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observed that the chickens are less vulnerable to diseases and their meat
commands higher selling price compared to commercially grown chicken.

When asked about his insights on the pandemic, he with all eloquence
replied, ‘This crisis is one of the worse if not the worst in our generation.
Everybody no matter what economic strata they belong were greatly affected.
Even the most powerful and most industrialized countries were not spared.
Clearly, this fight is for every human being on this fragile planet. We may not
be the ‘frontliners’ in COVID19 crisis but as citizen – as agriculturist we can
support other people in our own little ways. As agriculture student, this is an
opportunity to rev up our skills to the next level and use these God-given
talents in reaching out others. Helping my family to be food-sufficient in food
during quarantine period alone makes a huge difference. And I believe that
with the spirit of love and compassion with one another, and with HIS DIVINE
PROVIDENCE, we can heal and win this battle as one. #Healasone‘’

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GARDENING FOR SELF-
SUFFICIENCY
AN AGRI-QUARANTINE STORY OF ROWENA SANTIAGO QUILALA –
CLAVERIA, CAGAYAN

Mare, dumawat nak man bassit ti nateng yu.

Wen, agpuros ka latta ditan Mare.
It was second month of year 2020. Rowena was inside her room. She
overheard the conversation outside their house. It was her Mother asking for
some vegetable to a nearby neighbor. Deep inside, Rowena felt
embarrassed. If only they have grown similar plants in their home, her
mother does not have to ask those vegetable to other people.

The above incident drove Rowena to establish her own backyard

garden. Looking at the almost barren backyard, she knew by heart that she
can transform it into a productive area. The transformation will not be easy
and it will not happen overnight. She needed to do an overload of tasks for
several days for it to be realized.

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During the quarantine, Rowena maximized her time by maintaining the productivity of her vegetable garden.
The three photos above shows her high yielding bush sitao and squash ready for harvest.
BYPASS STORIES OF AGRICULTURE STUDENTS AT3
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BYPASS STORIES OF AGRICULTURE STUDENTS AT4
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 Rowena was really excited upon hearing about the BYPASS
CHALLENGE. It was because she has already started the
establishment of her garden even before lockdown was declared
across the country due to COVID-19 pandemic. With the challenge,
she was motivated work more for the improvement of her project.

With her garden, Rowena revealed that she was able to give
some vegetable to her neighbor who used to give them vegetables.
In fact, she was able to share some harvests to her neighbors.

During this pandemic where most people panic about food,

gardening their backyard made them self-sufficient. The garden
became their source of healthy and fresh vegetables during the
crisis.

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REFINING THE GREEN THUMB
WITHIN
A QUARANTINE STORY OF JONATHAN MACUGAY
19, NAMUAC, SANCHEZ MIRA, CAGAYAN

Jonathan presently holds the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK)

Chairperson post in their barangay. This means he has to divide his
time and attention between his online classes and his role in their
barangay.

During the quarantine, his team that comprises barangay officials and
other SK members was assigned to repackage relief goods. After that,
they were tasked to distribute the repacked goods to the community.
Since the people were not allowed to go out due to the community
lockdown, they were the ones authorized to give the goods in every
household. They even distributed package goods to nearby
barangays.’’ It is tiring but at the end of the day it is also fulfilling
knowing that we also are doing our counterpart as local officials in the
fight against COVID19.’’ Jonathan stated.

One time, while distributing relief goods in one of the sitios of their
barangay, his attention was caught not to a beautiful house or a
beautiful lady but to a mini vegetable garden installed in one of the
household they visited. He observed that the surroundings of that
particular house was stony and the soil was not good yet the owner
managed to have a garden. He was impressed with the efforts and
resourcefulness exerted by the people behind that garden.

Returning to his abode that same day, he tried to see and revisit their
backyard. The area is not as bad as the one he recently visited, so
there should be no reason for him not to take the challenge. Night
came. He was still thinking of their backyard when he overheard the
classic OPM song played over his brothers’ music box. The song lyrics
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‘Kung ayaw may dahilan, pag gusto laging may paraan.’ appears like it
challenges him to take action.

Next days and weeks after that, Jonathan decided to establish a

vegetable garden. Since the soil is not suitable for planting, he hauled
garden soil in another location. He used sacks and available
containers to plant vegetables. For vine plants, he dugs holes,
changed the soil and added some amount of fertilizer prior to planting.
For plant fertilizers, he used carabao manure he randomly collected in
a nearby graze land.

He informed that although he has other appointments and assignments

being a student and SK chairman, he sees to it that he allots time
gardening. He decided to establish his vegetable garden to maximize
the space in their backyard and at the same time apply what he
learned from CSU.

As our country is still pressured by COVID19 pandemic, we should

also realize that the government cannot provide all our necessities. If
you are one among the millions who already received goods or cash
subsidy, thanks to Social Amelioration Program (SAP), you must be
grateful. But, with increasing number of COVID19 positive cases, we
are still uncertain when our country can recover. And while our
government gives food subsidy, this cannot guarantee to supply our
daily food nutritional requirements. In hard times like this, it is still
better for the household to produce their own food basket through
gardening.

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GARDENING: A QUARANTINE HOBBY
MAYBEL AGAMANOS- CLAVERIA, CAGAYAN

If you’re the kind of person who loves plants and one who loves to
plant a lot, I bet, your eyes will be caught by the haven of edible plants
established by Maybel.

Eye-catching. Unique. Great. Those are some of the positive feedback

from the neighbors and random passers-by every time they see this
garden in Sta. Praxedez.

Maybel Agamanos is an incoming 3rd year BS Agriculture student.

During the month long quarantine period, she decided to plant
diversified plants around their home. She became very devoted in
beautifying their surroundings with ornamental and edible plants to the
point that she extended her garden to a nearby field. According to her,
gardening became her hobby and her stress reliever during this trying
time.

With the implementation of the nationwide lockdown, many activities

and affairs were greatly affected. Reporting to school and workplace
were not allowed. For many people, this means hiatus on the pressure
of schooling and working, but for Maybel this means an opportunity to
beautify their surroundings- by growing edible and ornamental plants.

Maybel use used coca-cola bottles and plastic cups to plant pechay.
She created a mini-vertical garden by hanging plastic pots. She also
installed a Christmas-tree shaped vertical garden made out of used
lumber and an old car tire as its base. Around the pond, she planted
different vegetables like sitao, okra, eggplant and pepper. She also
installed a mini veggie tunnel made out of indigenous materials that
served as trellis for her cucumber plants. Add to that, she also planted
moringa cuttings around their house.
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With the BYPASS challenge, she was motivated to plant all possible
spots to be planted in their area. She grew plants on and above the
ground. She planted above the fences, beside the ponds, and even the
roadside. On each activity, she made sure that she applied what she
learned from the school.

Around May 2020, Maybel was happy to inform us about her first
harvest from her cucumber plants. In the succeeding days, she was
able to gather her first harvest from her pole sitao plants. She was very
happy with the result of her month long obsession during the
quarantine. In fact, the remarkable yield of her cucumber plants
motivated her to plant more – this time in their fallowed rice-field. She
initiated the land preparation in a 240 square meter area. They
installed plastic mulch to control weed growth and to minimize rapid
moisture loss in the soil. With this undertaking, she looks forward that
she can earn money in the next month’s amidst COVID19 pandemic .

For farming aficionado, gardening kills the dead air of the day.
Gardening as a hobby keeps the boredom away especially these
quarantine days. And as a bonus,’ We learn something from our
mistakes and failures in gardening, and in case we succeed, we must
also see the possibility that we can also earn from it.’’ Maybel advised.

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BLENDING RECYCLING AND GARDENING
AGRI-QUARANTINE STORY OF MARIA THERESE PASCUA ESTORQUIA
BSA 2A, CLAVERIA, CAGAYAN
Have you ever wondered where those plastic bottles scattered along the
roads or in some random places end up if these were not properly disposed?
How about those old tires, merchandising bags and plastic wrappers? Do you still
remember the time you carelessly threw those milk shake containers in the
sidewalk? Have you ever done something to lessen your plastic waste?

Every day we produce wastes, variety of wastes. In fact, our country alone
produces hundreds of thousands of all sorts of wastes in a day. Huge chunks of
these wastes usually go to the district sewerage clogging the canals (this causes
flooding during rainy period) and ends up in the ocean. Tons of wastes affect
saline ecosystem and causes adverse effect on the lives of marine fauna and

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Proud Therese shows ‘Kanatengan ni Juan’ as her entry for the BYPASS

BYPASS STORIES OF AGRICULTURE STUDENTS AT0

Challenge. She has been working for over two months for this project.

CSUSM
flora species. Admit it or not, we are all contributing on our planets pollution and
destruction.

This gave Maria Therese Estorquia, a resident of Claveria, Cagayan and

an incoming third year student taking up Bachelor of Science in Agriculture at
Cagayan State University in Sanchez Mira an idea to use used plastic bottles for
her backyard garden. ‘Our household has accumulated several plastic bottles
and other sorts of recyclable materials so instead of throwing them away, I
decided to use them in my garden.’ she said.

Therese as her classmates fondly call her

has started by segregating the wastes she
‘’This project is
wanted to recycle in their home. ‘At school, we
timely as this
were taught on the importance of waste
segregation, proper waste disposal and
helped my family
recycling. I testify that CSU at Sanchez Mira to have an
has been a strong advocate of Ecological Solid additional food
Waste Management Act or the RA 9003. As source and at the
student and as citizen of the Philippine republic, same time it
we are to take to abide to this law with all our lessened our
reliance in buying
foods during the
pandemic.’’

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hearts and understanding. We are to enforce this not only in our school but even
to our home and our community.’ Therese explained.

She called her BYPASS Challenge project as ‘Kanatengan ni Juan’ or

Juan’s Veggie Garden in English. Her garden adopts the urban gardening
system wherein most of the plants were not directly grown in the ground. That
means most of her plants were grown in a container made of used or recycled
materials.

The beauty of growing vegetables in a container is that is can be

transferred in any place you desire. You can pile them, arrange them in layers
and you can hang them too. The ways are limitless and it’s up to us how to make
our use of the available resources the best way possible. The idea has been
practiced throughout history and it turned out to be a trend in different places not
only in our country, but in almost every part of the planet. It made growing of
vegetable and other commodities possible even in limited spaces particularly
those residing in metropolitan areas.

In her project, Therese made use of soda bottles for planting tomatoes and
pechay. She also used coconut shells, water bottles, buko juice glasses, instant
coffee plastic jars, old jeans, sacks and car tires. To grow seedlings, she used
egg trays, plastic bags and old plastic trays. For her soil media, she prepared a
mixture of carbonized rice hull (CRH), cow manure, sawdust and garden soil. In
fertilizing the plants, she applied FPJ or fermented plant juice twice each week.
To control insect pests, she applied a mixture of minced garlic mixed with a
dishwashing liquid soap. To prevent the attack of snails and slugs, she applied
powdered eggshells around her plants. And finally, to protect her plants from
stray animals like chickens and goats, she installed black plastic nets around her
garden.

Although, the space is limited, she managed to grow several kinds of plants
in the area. Plants like sweet potato, squash, tomato, upland kangkong, pechay,
okra, mungbean, pole sitaw and cucumber were grown in the garden. Apart from
that, Therese grows fruit-bearing plants like papaya and dragon fruit near their
house.

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 Therese relates, ‘In as much as I can, I want to apply everything I learned
from the school to this project. Since, the College of Agriculture constantly
championed the adoption of organic agriculture; I practice organic gardening.
This way I can be able to produce organically grown vegetables for our family
composed of ten people.’ She added, ‘This project is timely as this helped my
family to have an additional food source for us and at the same time it lessened
our reliance in buying foods during the pandemic.

She revealed that during the establishment of her project, she worried on
how and where to get trellising materials for the squash plants. Good thing, her
father gladly volunteered to bring and install the bamboo trellis for her.

Therese revealed that her neighbours noticed her

garden. Some started to do the same in their
homes. #Wehealandplantasone

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 A month after establishing the Kanatengan ni Juan, she witnessed how her
hard work and sacrifices paid off. All plants were growing robustly. With this, she
is thankful doing the challenge because it greatly made her overcome the
boredom brought by the lockdown. She further revealed that the challenge
allowed her to teach her 12 year old nephew and 6 year old niece on the world of
gardening. She strongly believes that doing so will make the children appreciate
the food they eat and with that it can make them more responsible in the future.

‘Kanatengan ni Juan’ garden featuring plants grown in different

recyclable materials like sacks, soda bottles, plastic cups and car tires.
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TENDING A GARDEN DURING THE
QUARANTINE
FELIX DELA CRUZ, PAMPLONA, CAGAYAN
Talent: Painting, Sketching, Drawing

The COVID-19 pandemic we currently experience has revealed to

us many realizations. We became more concerned about our health, our
safety and more so about our families. Suddenly, all places you wish to go
to become a battlefield against the unseen enemy, and it would be a
nightmare when one
amongst our love ones
will be inflicted with the
dreaded disease.

Literally all
educational institutions
were closed and we were
advised to stay at home.
This just made me

I decided to participate in the

BYPASS challenge initiated by our
teacher not only for the sake of
grades but to inspire my neighbors
and the youth to set up a vegetable
garden in their backyards too.
Felix dela Cruz proudly shows healthy
leaves of Amaranth harvested from his
garden.
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realize, that the safest place while battling this horrible pandemic is at
home with our families.

During the
quarantine period, we
got ample time to do
and to learn anything
that interests us. We
got time to harness
talent, and exploring
new things to show
(perhaps to brag to
During free hours, I spend time doing random artworks and the world?). I have
sketches. My drawing above pertains to the effect of the seen some of my
COVID19 pandemic to our country and our economy. friends via shared
post on social media
learning how to play guitar, how to paint, photo and video editing, dancing,
singing, blogging and so forth.

As an Agriculture student, I grab this opportunity to apply some skills

and knowledge I learned from the school to our home. I decided to
participate in the BYPASS challenge initiated by our teacher not only for
earning grades but to inspire my neighbors to set up a vegetable garden
too.

Although I only have a limited amount of space in establishing my

project, I managed to grow different vegetables such as okra, spinach,
tomatoes, kangkong, hot pepper, eggplant, and pechay.

To add aesthetic beauty and to attract beneficial insects, I also planted

flowering plants like sunflowers and marigold. Squash seedlings were
planted near the roadside.

Tending my garden became my daily routine during the quarantine.

Watering, weeding, cleaning, cultivating and removing pest were done to
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make sure that my plants will grow and yield as desired. Small as it may, I

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 am looking forward that my output shall inspire my neighborhood especially
the young ones to spare time to tend a garden rather than playing with
those gadgets all the time.

What I Learned While Doing the

Challenge…
While planting pechay, I did
not really follow the correct
planting density and planting
distance. As a result, the growth
of the plants was not uniform as
the plants were too crowded
competing for sunlight, air and
space. And if the concerned
authorities remind us to observe
proper social distancing to contain
the virus for further spreading, the
BYPASS challenge has reminded
me that in gardening we have to
observe correct planting
distances for our plants because
each crop has an ideal space
requirement for them to thrive
and grow well.

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VEGETABLE GARDENING AS FAMILY
BONDING
DEXTER DULAY BASSIAG, PAMPLONA, CAGAYAN

Two weeks after the nationwide lockdown, we

were dared to respond to a challenge initiated
by our teacher – that is to establish a garden
project at home. He stressed that the idea is
keep us engaged in a productive activity and
at the same time to encourage other people to
do the same

As his students, we were tasked to spearhead

Dexter proudly shows his newly
harvested cucumber fruits from his
backyard garden
in establishing the project. I am very happy to
undertake this challenge as it enables me
apply what I learned from my classes. This is
also a way to showcase doable techniques in
growing vegetables and other related
technologies I learned while studying in CSU.
With the BYPASS CHALLENGE, I was able to
engage myself in agricultural works and
activities even at the midst of community
quarantine.

During the pandemic, gardening emerged as a

bonding time with my family. Each family member helps in taking care of the
plants. My father and my younger brother helped me during the land preparation.
My mother and my sister were my companion during seedling preparation and
during crop establishment. My younger brother assisted me in setting up the
trellis and the plant guards. With this, I therefore affirm that the garden was
established through the collaborative efforts of my family.

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Gardening vegetables and
other crops right in our
homes for our own
consumption is truly a
fulfilling activity. Every day,
our family looks forward to
see plants grow in the
garden. In the end, it’s
really rewarding moment to
reap the yield when the
plants are ready to harvest.

Back in school, we were

always reminded by our
teacher that it is better to
sow and produce your own
food than wholly relying on
what is sold in the market. I
agree with this because the
plants grown in our
backyard are far safer and
cleaner since we did not
apply any synthetic
chemical products. I look
forward to expand our
garden to plant other
commodities depending on
the availability of planting
materials.

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GARDENING WHILE
EXPERIMENTING
STEVE JAMES SAMALIO – STA. PRAXEDEZ, CAGAYAN

Steve James Samalio is a working student. He ran errands, do household chores

and the like. During school days, he volunteers to wash and iron cloths of his
teachers and friends. On weekends, he does some part time job in their town. He
set aside some of his earnings for his personal savings and the rest will serve as
his allowance in the next 5 school days. He does all this to support his future
and his studies.

When the lockdown in Luzon was announced due to COVID19 pandemic, Steve
weekly income source was also affected. Fortunately, a local government officer
in their town offered him to apply a work during the quarantine. Steve gladly
accepted the offer of the officer.

Although Steve has a work during the quarantine period, he did not decline to do
the BYPASS challenge. In fact, he was one of the first among my students who
established a garden during the quarantine. Using available resources and
materials in his place, he was able to set-up a vegetable garden.

Aside from gardening for food source purposes, Steve has another reason why
he does this activity. He gardens and he grow plants to experiment. He
anticipates conducting an undergraduate thesis study in the upcoming school
year that’s why as early as now, he tries to find a doable research topic to study.

Steve informed me that he makes his own Fermented Plant Juice (FPJ) using
plants abundantly growing in their locality. One of which he uses is Lantana
camara, a noxious weed in their place. Upon successful completion of the
fermentation period, he then mixes the desired amount of FPJ with water. The
mixture was drenched to some of his plant with a particular frequency of
application. From time to time, Steve observes whether his application was
effective on plant growth or not. 3
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Currently, he experiments on the effect of charcoal application on the growth of
plants in his garden. He read in an article that charcoal ash contains certain
amount of potassium carbonate, a compound cited to help boost the growth of
some plants. With this initiative during the quarantine, we hope Steve has
already found a good topic to develop into a study.

Steve family is one of the 4P’s program beneficiaries in his town. With his
enthusiasm and determination to succeed in his studies despite of his every day
struggles in life, I can attest that Steve truly deserves to receive the mentioned
government support and assistance.

In case you do not know, 4P’s is one of the established government program
aimed to liberalize the deprived Filipino families from the claws and chains of
poverty. Eradicating poverty if not reducing the number of people under poverty
threshold is one of the millennium development goals targeted to be attained by
Philippines by year 2040.

Having the heart and spirit to gallantly face and overcome life adversities, I will
not question why Steve will come become successful in his chosen career in the
future.

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TRIMMING SOCMED TIME BY
GARDENING
AN AGRI-QUARANTINE STORY – SUZETTE MACAGGA
SANCHEZ MIRA, CAGAYAN

The influx of social media flat forms or socmed for short like Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, Line, and WeChat and video streaming sites like Youtube and Netflix
eased our accessibility to myriad of information about the world (and the
universe) more than before. News like on COVID19-related updates and
announcements is just a click or scroll away in our smart phones.

A MEMORY LANE. I remember the time when Filipinos just love

sending/exchanging SMS greetings, quotes and other messages via their keypad
phones. Who would forget receiving a text message like, FwEN WER NA U? and
perhaps you even replied ‘D2 NA ME’. That time, texting emerged as an instant
hit mode of communication putting our country in the pedestal as the texting
capital in the world.

In the past years, most Filipinos turn on to Facebook for communication. User
penetration on the said socmed flat-form increased into manifold. Thanks to the
never-ending updates, merger with other application and addition of features
and content. Today, Facebook became a fastest mode to spread positivity, good
vibes, infomercials and for others fake news.

With the range of stuffs anyone can do over social media, most of us failed to
realize that such addiction is slowly devouring our time. Instead of using time to
essential undertakings, the internet habituation of most people especially the
millennials and students has invaded a huge chunk of their daily lives.
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Suzette, a petite second year BSA II is one of the millions of Filipino youth who
spends a lot of their time browsing the internet. Like any other students of her
age, her immersion on different social media flat-form particularly on Facebook
has dramatically increased during the quarantine. She disclosed that through the
use of social media, Suzette was able to get in touch with her friends and
classmates during the pandemic. With it, she also gained friends and followers.
In fact, she hoards an average of hundred reactions/likes per post. She felt, her
day is not complete without posting something over social media.

However, things have changed when she began her home garden. Scrolling over
the pictures that features home gardens and other activities sent by her
classmates via group chat has encouraged her to establish a vegetable garden in
their backyard.

In their backyard, Suzette planted different vegetables like pepper, eggplant,

squash, and ridge gourd. She informed that she loves eating papaya fruit so she
decided to grow a couple of papaya plants in her garden too. Other than edible
plants, she also grows ornamental plants in their home.

The more she devotes her time on her garden, the lesser time Suzette spends on
social media. She realized that over-engagement on Facebook and other social
media flat-forms can drive days unproductive. Thanks to edible gardening, she
was able to stay fit and healthy while staying home during the quarantine. Doing
physical activity like this is important to exercise our bodies in order to awaken
our senses and nerve cells. For Suzette she finds gardening at home as the most
rewarding activity she did this quarantine. Other than scrolling the screens of that
smartphone, she highly recommends other people especially the youth to build a
garden to become productive amidst the COVID19 pandemic.

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A VERDANT
TRANSFORMATION
IMEE AGUSTIN, STA MARCELA, APAYAO

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BATTLING INSECT PEST BY
HANGING BOTTLES
A FAMILY AGRI-QUARANTINE STORY - TSJ RESIDENCE, SANCHEZ MIRA,
CAGAYAN

The SARS COV 19 pandemic shook almost all nations in the world. It’s all over the news and our
timeline. It’s a concern for each of us today. It’s a distress for many weeks now. But did you know that
serious disease outbreaks are not only affecting human beings, it happens to our animals and crops
too. In fact some of the deadliest diseases affected the plants cultivated by man- and the plague
claimed thousands up to millions of lives.

In Crop Protection class, we learn about the different plant diseases caused by animal pests and
microorganisms. The infamous Irish Famine in the 18th century was due to a bacterial disease called
Phytoptora infestans has wipeout all potato plants of said country. During that time, potato is regarded
as the staple food of the people. The devastating plant disease outbreak of the farmer’s triggered
widespread famine forcing other Irish to immigrate in other countries, with some reaching as far a the
United States.

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