At four in the morning, while much of the neighborhood is still asleep, Genovivo “Bong” Cajes is already on his feet.

His day begins at the bakery before he heads to the farm to check on his dairy cows. Later, he moves between the farm, store, bakery, and restaurant—checking supplies, tending to livestock, managing the business, and making sure everything is ready before the day ends late at night.

At 56, Bong’s routine is not simply about running a farm or a business. It is a way of life built around agriculture, enterprise, family, and service.

Cajes grew up in a family of farmers. His father taught him and his six siblings to plant trees corresponding to their age, an early lesson that eventually became part of the foundation of what would grow into Macatabo Farm. He would later become a nurse, work in a hospital and as a private duty nurse, and eventually pursue a career as a district manager for a medical company covering Visayas and Mindanao.

He once planned to work abroad. But when faced with the choice between pursuing that dream and staying with his wife and two children, he chose his family.

That decision kept him close to home—and eventually brought him back to agriculture.

In 2000, Cajes opened a bakery while working as a medical representative. The bakery eventually expanded into a mini-grocery store. In 2008, he took early retirement from his corporate job, which required extensive travel. Seven years later, he formally began his farming journey, starting with Lakatan bananas before expanding into vegetables and livestock.

But Cajes did not approach farming simply as a matter of producing whatever the farm could grow.

“I create market, di ako dumedepende sa kung ano lang ang mayroon [I create my own market; I don’t simply depend on what is available],” he said.

When bananas were difficult to sell, he turned them into banana loaves for his bakery. What began as a way to address a problem eventually became a product of its own: the “I Loaf You” banana loaves. Today, he produces bananas specifically for this value-added product after recognizing that processing them into loaves can generate more value than selling the fresh fruit alone. He also supplies 3 to 5 tons of Lakatan bananas to Laguna.

From farmer to community bridge

Cajes has been involved in the Agricultural and Fishery Council (AFC) since 2010, initially as a member of the Regional Agricultural and Fishery Council (RAFC) Sectoral Committee. He became more active in 2020, when current RAFC Coordinator Roy Pascua took charge.

He also served as chairperson of the Vegetables Industry Council of Southern Mindanao (VICSMin) in 2016–2017 and was re-elected in 2024, during which he worked to have the organization registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Several VICSMin members also became individual members of the AFC, linking his work in the vegetable industry with his involvement in the council.

For Cajes, the AFCs have an important role in organizing farmers and fisherfolk and contributing to policymaking.

Through VICSMin, for instance, he serves as a bridge between producers and consumers. The association buys farmers’ produce, giving them an immediate market.

Its work has also included initiatives that address broader agricultural concerns. One example is Gulayan sa Barangay. Cajes said the concept started with VICSMin, an account supported by an ACIAR report that identifies the organization as having piloted the implementation of the project in 2004. The project was then turned over to Davao City in 2005 and carried out by the Davao City Agriculturist’s Office.

VICSMin’s involvement in Gulayan sa Barangay was also documented in the organization’s Operations Guidelines published in 2006. The initiative would later form part of broader government efforts to promote community vegetable gardening, including programs involving the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

VICSMin also proposed repacking seeds into smaller pouches instead of cans, an approach Cajes said was later adopted by the East-West Seed Foundation.

For Cajes, these experiences demonstrate how farmers’ organizations can bring forward practical ideas that respond to the needs of their communities.

He continues to look for ways to widen farmers’ access to resources. Among the initiatives he hopes to pursue through a policy resolution is a proposal for an arrangement with a brewery factory that would allow interested farmers to purchase its pressed malt by-product, expanding access beyond the current arrangement with selected recipients.

He is likewise promoting responsible waste management, particularly the proper disposal of chemical and fertilizer bottles.

These initiatives may seem separate from his role as an AFC volunteer, but for Cajes, they are connected by the same purpose: helping farmers become more capable, organized, and able to find solutions within their communities.

Building a farm that teaches

Macatabo Farm has also become an extension of that philosophy.

In 2020, the farm became an Agricultural Training Institute (ATI)-accredited Learning Site for Agriculture. By 2024, it had been upgraded to LSA II with the addition of lodging and classrooms. Cajes also underwent TESDA training in Artificial Insemination for Large Ruminants in 2018. In 2021, he secured a ₱2-million ACPC loan for chicken layering, and in 2022, he opened a farm-to-table restaurant within Macatabo Farms.

The 13-hectare property now encompasses areas for livestock, accommodation, the restaurant, and the farm, while five hectares have been given to farm tenants.

His initiatives also extend to the welfare of the people working on the farm. After participating in the Department of Labor and Employment’s Tripartite System Orientation, where he learned about shared labor governance, wage orders, productivity frameworks, and dispute prevention, Cajes initiated the registration and coverage of Macatabo Farm workers with the Social Security System. He also initiated the construction of homes for workers within the farm.

Macatabo Farm was also recognized as the Outstanding Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture Garden in the Macrogarden category during the 50th Gawad Saka in 2025.

Volunteerism as a way of life

Despite everything he manages, Cajes describes his AFC experience as “50/50”—50 percent happy and 50 percent difficult.

The difficulty comes partly from balancing volunteer responsibilities with his own farm and businesses, as well as maintaining the active participation of fellow AFC members. But what keeps him going is the people he encounters, particularly older volunteers whom he sees continuing to serve despite their age.

His view of volunteerism is deeply personal.

“It is an honor to serve people and also the Grace of God is to those who have the heart for volunteerism. Hindi ako nawalan simula nung nagvolunteer ako,” Cajes said.

For him, service is not separate from farming. It is part of the same work of creating opportunities—whether by finding a market for produce, adding value to farm products, connecting farmers with consumers, promoting better practices, or bringing farmers’ concerns into spaces for consultation and policymaking.

And while he hopes to contribute as an AFC volunteer, his ambition reaches beyond his own role.

“I just want to be a model farmer and influencer, helping farmers to be leaders in their communities,” he said.

Ultimately, Cajes’ vision is not only about making his own farm thrive. He hopes for farmers to have better lives for their families, access to education and food security, and for more young people to engage in agriculture.

From a farmer’s son to a nurse, entrepreneur, farmer, livestock raiser, restaurant owner, organization leader, and AFC volunteer, Cajes’ story is shaped by a recurring instinct: when faced with a problem, look for an opportunity to create something useful.

For him, that opportunity does not stop at the farm gate. It extends to the farmers he works with, the communities he serves, and the next generation he hopes will choose to stay in agriculture. | Text Joy Camille Luza, Photos by Jezebel Campaniel and Junry Danila