Double-degree holder and basketball player Mark Ligan shares his story as a farmer
MARK LIGAN – The 26-year-old from Murcia, Negros Occidental who’s a double-degree holder and basketball player chose to become a farmer.
Mark finished two courses- Interdisciplinary Studies at ng Marketing Management- from the University of Saint La Salle-Bacolod in 2018.
However, instead of pursuing a career either in basketball or among his two courses, he decided to become a farmer.
According to Mark, being a farmer is his calling.
He started to become interested in farming when he was a third-year college student.
At the time, they are required to submit a feasibility study and his study was about farming.
In 2017, he decided to develop their 3-hectare farm to MBL Integrated Farm.
He started with no crops until he began planting eggplant, okra, papaya, guyabano, jackfruit, coconut and others.
He’s also raised Australian goats, cows, buffaloes, and chickens.
One of Mark’s goals was to prove that he can earn money from farming.
To increase his knowledge in agriculture, Mark attended seminars and training.
He also became fond of reading books and watching online tutorials about farming, especially goat breeding.
Because of the good quality of his goats, he was able to sell a five-month-old goat for PHP30,000.
Aside from that, he’s also earning from selling vegetables and other crops.
In fact, in 2019 he was hailed as an Outstanding Young Animal Raiser by the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental.
Mark Ligan is proud of being a farmer because he helps his fellow Filipinos have food on the table.
When the pandemic erupted and food demand increased in the Philippines, he did not stop the operation of his farm and the delivery to the markets.
Aside from the pandemic, one of the intense challenges for farmers like Mark is the long period of El Niño or drought.
However, he always has a positive outlook on every challenge.
Aside from the continuous production of livestock and crops, Mark also aims to make MBL Integrated Farm a farm tourism destination in their province.
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