AIRLINE PROFESSIONAL TURNED HER PARENTS' IDLE LAND INTO A FARM TOURISM DESTINATION
Agriculture|November - December 2020
FARMING has always been a lifelong dream for many Filipinos because of the Philippines’ background as an agricultural country. That is why from a young age to twilight years, people have dreamed of living on or owning a farm where they can grow fresh produce and enjoy nature while earning a good income.
PATRICIA BIANCA S. TACULAO
AIRLINE PROFESSIONAL TURNED HER PARENTS' IDLE LAND INTO A FARM TOURISM DESTINATION

Korina Mercado, a strategy, analytics, and optimization manager for a large airline company in the PH, is very familiar with the farming dream as she and her siblings grew up appreciating the province life because of their parents, Joselito Mercado and Corazon Alvarez.

“Both of my parents [lived on a] farm in Laguna and [only] left their farm... because of our studies. While they did their business, their love for farming hasn’t stopped because our family continued to invest in farmlands,” Mercado said.

Working for an airline company, Mercado has the opportunity to take her parents to other locations. During their travels, Mercado realized the potential of farms as tourism destinations.

“I realized that our farm, and the other farms beside ours, deserve to be visited as well. Laguna, Philippines has a lot to offer [and] it’s making me sad that people nowadays would like to spend more time in malls rather than spending it with nature,” she said.

Shortly after, she started convincing her parents that they too can turn their acquired farmlands into a respite from the busy city where guests can enjoy nature.

MAKING PLANS

After convincing her parents to convert their idle land into a farm tourism site, Mercado began to work on her ideas for the farm such as its name, features, logo, and more by June 2017.

In the end, Mercado went back to her roots and decided to use her parents’ family names, Mercado and Alvarez, for the name of their farm: Megrez.

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