Buruanga’s Successful Vegetable Farmers
“My life has really changed. DAR has given me and my husband a second chance.”
Lourdes Patricio, 52 yrs old, a native of Samar, decided to move and live with her husband, Galicano Patricio, 63 yrs old, in Brgy. Tag-osip, Buruanga, Aklan from their busy and difficult Manila, after having labor problems with their employer. They left their four children behind and chose the rural life, making the most of the things they sure are theirs. DAR has awarded them through a Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) No. 2135 of approximately 36,268 sq.m. (3.6 has.) of agricultural land registered on June 22, 1993.
It was in 2008 when Lourdes decided to finally live in the hometown of her husband in Tag-osip, Buruanga. With their children getting lives of their own, Lourdes found it hard to live in Manila with no secured job, no stable income, and no permanent place to stay in. What they earned was barely enough for their everyday sustenance.
CARPER and DAR-ARISP III
Intervention
Lourdes and her husband Galicano tilled the land awarded to them. They harvest copra every three months and gather banana and vegetables every now and then to sell in the market and for their daily consumption. Collectively, from the fruits of their labor and hard work, they earn only a meager to endure their daily needs but not adequate to send money for the schooling of their youngest child in Manila. When DAR introduced the ARISP-III project in BENTCH ARC, the couple was enthusiastic about it as not only the project would pave their road from poblacion to their barangay, it would also provide them alternative source of income.
True to Lourdes’ dream of possessing a vegetable garden, she was fortunate to be selected one of the cooperators/ beneficiaries of the High Value Crops production project of the DAR-ARISP program. “Noong una sa TV ko lang nakikita ang mga ganung pamamaraan ng pagtatanim. Ngayon ay nagagawa ko na.” Lourdes was referring to the new technology of planting vegetables wherein they are using certain methods, farm inputs and materials. She and her husband painstakingly work hard as these opportunities only seldom come.
They are very thankful to DAR as it stresses the absolute centrality of the poor farmers and the importance of farmer’s organization. Through DAR and their cooperative, Tag-osip-El Progreso ARBs Multi-purpose Cooperative, she and the other beneficiaries of the agricultural development and livelihood projects have realized that the key to success is the product of the opportunities that come before them and their dynamism, initiative and perseverance.
No harvest is made easy. It takes determination, patience, coupled with good weather condition and pest free environment to achieve the greatest yield. When Lourdes decided to plant sweet pepper on half of the area devoted for the demonstration farm, she knew that she is taking a big risk. But with her agility and sense of resourcefulness, she transformed all the obstacles into opportunities. She surpassed what is expected of her. On the second and third cycles of the vegetable production, she and her husband have expanded the demo farm from 500 sq.m. to almost 0.25 hectare planted to tomato, ampalaya, eggplant and cucumber. Now, she earns a weekly average income of Php 1,500 to Php 2,500 during the peak harvesting stage. While on a low season, she manages to earn at least Php 500 a week. This is on top of the income they derive from the copra, banana and other crops planted on the land given to them through DAR.
When asked what she wants more to achieve, she intends to purchase more land in Tag-osip so she could plant more vegetables. DAR through the CARPER law has given opportunity to the likes of Lourdes to make their dreams a reality. Their CLOA encouraged them to invest in it and have a sense of ownership driving them not only to personal empowerment, but also gender and development, collective action and social relations. Support services project like the ARISP-III paved the way for them to acquire more knowledge, take opportunities and risks, and be sustainable to achieve increased productivity and higher income. /MP
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