What is syntropic farming?

A few columns ago, I wrote about Anitu Forest Food Processing, a small batch chocolatier from Bukidnon and Anitu Food Forest, the syntropic farm that supplies the cacao for the artisanal chocolates.

- AVANT GARDENER YVETTE TAN

Fourth-generation farmer Marvi Montecillo recounted his journey to syntropic farming and how establishing his own small syntropic farm amidst his family’s conventional farmed fields has led to personal satisfaction, not to mention his wife Rogen’s (who is a Young Farmers Challenge Awardee) steadily growing chocolate business.

Marvi hails from a family of conventional farmers who cultivated a variety of crops, including sugarcane, bananas, and coconuts. The only farmer in the family, he manages the family farm. His siblings are based in Cagayan de Oro City.

His interest in syntropic farming began around 2016. He started with two hectares, and because he hadn’t found a community to learn from and had to rely on trial and error, it took about eight years to experience positive results. As of the interview, the two hectares, which are mostly planted to banana and cacao, have expanded to six. The banana is sold locally while the cacao is used in Rogen’s chocolate creations. “The bearing of the cacao is 3.5 hectares, and we hope to expand again because there’s more space,” Montecillo said in Taglish.