Farmer’s gain record harvests from 17 farming laws

Farmer Danilo Arcales Bolos has made a record harvest of 17 metric tons of rice per hectare and even hit as much as 19 mt/hectare harvesting hybrid rice. 

His fellow farmers have benefited from following Bolos' best farm practices which he has incorporated into what he calls his 17 techniques or "laws" of farming. These techniques were featured in the Ugnay Palay: 35th National Rice R4D (Research for Development) Conference held at the Philippine Rice Research Institute on 29 November to 1 December. 

Bolos was selected to address the Ugnay Palay because of his frequent training sessions with farmers from other parts of the country and through the testimonial speeches he delivers.

He and former Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol are now making a compilation which will be developed into a book on best palay farming practices and how to maximize yields and incomes combining scientific and modern technologies with traditional farm methods on how to help the country's farmers reap better from their livelihood.

A name for himself

Bolos has made a name for himself not just for his feat in producing 17 metric tons of rice per hectare but also for having successfully raised two daughters who are now both lawyers.  

On the average, he harvests 15 to 17 tons per hectare during the dry season and 7.5 to 10 tons per hectare during the wet season. The national average is 6 tons per hectare.

His two daughters have passed the bar; the eldest, Debbie Gaile Jacinto Bolos passed in 2021 and her sister, Dana Gia Jacinto Bolos followed in 2023. They the are now both properly addressed as Atty. Bolos. 

His wife, Glenda S. Jacinto took up business administration, and went on to finishher master's degree in accountancy at the University of the East in Manila; Bolos himself finished electrical engineering from FEATI University.

His youngest daughter, Dana took community development at UP Diliman finishing magna cum laude while the elder one, Debbie finished business administration masters in marketing at UP Diliman, graduating also magna cum laude. They both took their law course at Wesleyan University in Nueva Ecija.

OFW savings

Unlike other farmers, he and his wife invested on their farm through his savings as an overseas Filipino worker. 

It all began in 1989 when a piece of land was pawned to him. He knew practically nothing about farming and he asked he asked for instructions from old farmers.

Bolos continued working overseas as assistant maintenance chief for electrical operations at the Ministry of Defense and Aviation in Saudi Arabia until such time that he was able to buy a total of three hectares of farm land; at that point, he decided he would become a full-time farmer. 

His farm grew from crop earnings, with Bolos combining science-based technologies for his hybrid rice farm in Nueva Ecija. He uses chemical-based fertilizer with his amino acid concoction of fresh and live fish mixed/cured with molasses.

He also uses the now popular AWD (alternating wet and dry) technique in watering so as not to drown his crop with too much water but making sure that the plant would retain its moisture even after initial fertilization with chemicals and religiously spraying amino acid on the soil.