Entrepreneurial Farmer

Ambrosio R. Villorente

Let Kalibo Develop Farmers Persons Worthy of Respect

Will an Aklanon don an Identification Card identifying him as “Marginalized Farmer?” If not, why not?

There is now an ordinance in Kalibo which will exempt a Kalibonhon marginalized farmer from paying certain fees in order to obtain Mayor’s and Business Permits. This Municipal Ordinance No. 2012 – 002 of Kalibo will allow a person identified as marginalized farmer to sell his farm products like gabi, tapioca, sweet potato, at Toting Reyes St., between Roxas Avenue Extension and XIX Martyrs Street once a week during market day on Sunday.

In order to avail of this benefit, one must be marginalized farmer whose net income is not beyond P50,000 per year. Those who will qualify will be issued an ID which will certify that the bearer of it is a “Marginalized Farmer”.

Wow, P50,000 net income! With this definition of marginalized farmer as used in Kalibo Ordinance No. 2012 – 002, almost all farmers will qualify as marginalized. The proponent of this Ordinance must devote more time and effort to find out how much really is the annual net income of an Aklanon Farmer in the truest sense of marginalized word.

A two hectare rice farmer with two croppings a year must really be a diligent scientific farmer to produce crops and have a P50,000 net profit per year. From that crop, what a rice farmer will have is labor income not net profit. Almost all small farmers in Aklan do not assign value to their labor spent in farm production, so they feel good after harvest as their harvest may exceed farm inputs.

It is admitted that the factors of production are land, labor, and capital. Added to these are time, method, materials and machine. And net gain is obtained after subtracting the cost of these production factors from gross income. It is highly possible to obtain P50,000 net income and even beyond if a farmer deals with chicken meat and eggs and other high value crops production.

On Monday afternoon, March 19, upon the invitation of the Committee on Laws and Rules, I attended a committee meeting of the Aklan SP for interaction on the said ordinance of Kalibo. I was provided with the copy of the ordinance.

But after reading the above stated ordinance, I understood the noble purpose of the Sangguniang Bayan of Kalibo, more specifically its author. Since I belong to the farm sector, I offered just simple suggestions for the kind consideration of the Sangguniang Pan-lalawigan of Aklan before its final approval. If these suggestions are favorably considered, I trust it will improve the above stated ordinance.

First, I humbly offered to delete the term “MARGINALIZED” in the ordinance which describes the kind of farmer the ordinance will provide benefits. The title of the ordinance will then read: “An Ordinance Granting Certain Privileges to the Farmers of Kalibo…”Further, delete also “marginalized” in the second whereas.

I believe maintaining the term marginalized in the ordinance will make the ordinance a “Class Legislation”. It will favor a few. It is discriminatory to other farmers.

I also strongly believe the description of a farmer as marginalized is so humbling, terribly humiliating to those persons referred to as “backbone of the nation”. While they are poor, can we dignify them by deleting marginalized?

While agriculture is an art and science, it is as well profitable if farming is done diligently and scientifically, more may engage and do it well to prosper from it. Let us help the farmer along increased production and enhance his dignity.

Calling farmers marginalized will discourage our children to inherit the farms. Who will then produce our food? Why belong to a marginalized person, the farmer?

Let us make farming attractive, interesting, enjoyable and lucrative. Let us attract our children to inherit the farm and to produce food for their families and for consumers.

As the above stated ordinance is written, it appears the beneficiary is only the farmer. How about if SB Kalibo just add another whereas like, “Whereas, vegetables and fruits, root crops, chicken and eggs and other farm products of high quality will be made available to the consumers at reasonable prices.

If Ordinance No. 2012 – 002 is finally approved as is and implemented, Toting Reyes Street between Roxas Avenue Extension and XIX Martyrs Street will become notorious as the Marginalized Farmers Market on Sundays. I hope it will not come to that point. I pray time will never come that when a housewife who bought some root crops when asked: “Where did you buy your camote will answer: “idto sa Toting Reyes, tindahan it pobreng mangunguma”.

What a mockery! Here, a person is humbled and then offered him something to appease.

It will be for the best interest of Kalibo and its people to assist the farmers to become progressive, to produce more products and increase net income. Then, they become dignified persons worthy of respect. /MP