The Cost: A new Season

Photo From Mark Anthony Hidalgo, ISU San Mateo's School Publication Photojournalist

(This is the second part of the feature I wrote for the School Publication at the summer of 2019, feel free to read the first part here; The Cost: The failure of One the Fall of Many)

New Season

The coldest month of the year has finally arrived with it's iconic Siberian breeze that we Filipinos enjoy. We now experience the beginning of freezing nights and mornings, a huge problem for night mass attendees specially for those who can't stand to bathe on bitterly cold temperatures.

December came within a blink of an eye, it is the start of our favorite Christmas season and also the last month of the year. Though it is known for it's famous Christmas day, Night carols and Noche Buena celebrations— for aging Mang Danny, December, is worth something more.

He treats this month as something equally important to the birth of Christ as it is also the start of the season he reverred. As a simple peasant, Farming is his God for it is the foundation of his very existence. After a month of defeaning silence in the ricefields, the water has started to flow again, surging freely, flooding the once dry lands and turning it into fields of wet marshes—a preparation for a new planting season.

Soon before the sunlight lit the dark plains and empty meadows, while the sun is still hiding in the dark shadows of night, Mang Danny, a visibly aging man prepares to set into his daily routine. Most people would still be on their deep slumber, but Mang Danny seems to have been accustomed into waking up before the crack of dawn. After finishing his preparations, with the guide of his old flashlight he proceeded to walk into the pitch dark path towards the fields situated hundreds of meters away from the island of houses.

Upon arrival Mang Danny started to walk towards his small piece of land sorrounded by lush vegetation of different varieties. Mang Danny dug small irrigated waterways to provide his field a better water supply, he said he did it in order to soften his barren field for the tractor to easily plow it and to ensure that the soild would be in good physical conditions for crop growth. After digging he piled the excess soil in the bunds, a small narrow pathways created to divide separate farming fields which also act as a boundary line beetween his farm from other farmers field. The old man also cleared the undisturbed human sized talahibs that covered the bunds of his farm with his rusty yet sharp tabas. 

The weather that day was a combination of cloudy and sunny, the sun is already shining brightly up in the sky like a titans fiery wheel after hours of gruelling work on the field, but the cloudy weather brought by typhoon Ramon's presence in Northern Luzon brought comfort to Mang Danny and other farmers around. Mang Danny who was in his 60's has been living as a farmer since he was a kid. "My father was a farmer so am I, I've been farming since I was a kid along side my father when he was alive", he said.

His farmland wasn't large at all, it's size can be determined by the native measurement we call silong, a square or rectangular shaped field which has mounded edges we call bunds. Mang Danny has 6 silongs on his watch and each silongs had an equal importance to him. After an hour of digging and flooding his farm, The old farmer proceeded to bring his new grains for planting. In the small canal near the main ditch lies a sack covered with dead weeds, he explained to me that palay grain should be soak in water days before it's actual germination period, He carried the old sack on his broad and shoulders and as he reached his destination he soon started to disperse the seeds on a flat leveled cold soil that he prepared a day earlier. He swayed his sun baked arms gently, spreading the seeds hoping for a good crop to harvest for the next cropping season.

After staying under the scorching sun for several hours, Mang Danny took a little break and sat casually on a bamboo seat right under a big milina tree that has been standing there for years. He carefully laid his dorsal on the old chair facing his nearly finish field. 

While taking a good break he recalled his early days as a farmer, the time where agriculture according to him is flourish. He remembered the days where the grains prices according to him was "...enough to make a living"—for him atleast. 

"Back in the old days I still clearly remember when grains where almost ranging at 30 to 40 per kilo, I was still young that time, but now I hardly can't believe that I don't have any profits left from my last harvest."

"My profits last October was just enough to pay my debts", he added.

Mang Danny is an old man who has a short stature with a sun baked skin and hands filled with large greeny nerves which I believe due to his long years of service for the people as a farmer. His hair is winter white with eyes blood feckeld. At first glance he might look like an ordinary old man, But Mang Danny is beyond ordinary, He is a hard-working man and a good Padre de pamilya. He is a father to three children, Two girls and a boy— all of them graduated from college and became professionals who's well respected and adored in our little community. 

He told me that farming is the sole reason why he managed to send all his kids to school. He began emotional as he recalled those days—with a teary eye told me the hardships he encountered, even mentioning the time where he almost lost ownership of his land. "I almost sold my land when my eldest child got sick, fortunately there are people back then who are willing to help"

"My land is so precious to me, this is my livelihood; I attained everything I have today with the help of this little piece of land; even if I won't be able to gain profit again this season. I won't sell it— Wala na Rin Naman akong pag-aaralin (I have no one to send to school anyway)", he added.

Even if he is not profiting enough in his career, he is determined to continue the vocation he grown up with. When I asked him about his opinions on the Rice Tarrification Law he responded quickly and said,"What can I do? It's the law and no one is above the law; I can only follow. Yes I have grudges against the government but what can an old man like me can do?, I have no choice left  but to follow".

Mang Danny has already finished his responsibilities over his family but unlike him there are still several farmers in San Mateo alone who still need to support to their families. A large percentage of farmers in San Mateo alone are young and is on their prime, many have an existing familial responsibilities, most of them are still sending their kids to schools and farming is their only source of income,  as we all know, Farming is the main livelihood of San Mateonians.

An unjust law

The whole goal of Republic Act No# 11203 is to provide cheap rice for the consumers. Originally this law aimed to raise the income of palay or rice farmers; it's "suppose to be objectives" is to ensure food security attainable by all and secure income for local producers. The architect of this law wants us to believe that supply and demand is balance, which infact turns to be the other way around. The balance envisioned from the law is nowhere to be found, the current farm gate price of palay is ridiculously low. It currently sells between seven pesos to ten pesos per kilo if sold fresh. In Central Luzon the average price is 10.60 pesos, nine pesos to 14 pesos. While here in Cagayan Valley it costs 12.31 pesos, 11 pesos up to 15 pesos. Technically our farmers are loosing, this kind pricing scheme doesn't match the production cost—therefore the farmers household level is vulnerable to malnutrition, school-drop outs and an increased chance for early marriage among the farmers families. 

"It's an unjust law designed to degrade and defile us", Julian stressed.

Julian is a young man now turning 25 whom I featured at the first part of this feature. Nothing has changed, he still possess his sunbaked skin—just a little bit darker, and now has a long hair and a goatee of beard on his chin. The former IT graduate is still devoted to the profession he never dreamt to do. 

"I love farming Even though it is not aligned with the course I took, I love computers but I love farming more", he said.

As a tenant he is currently in service for one of the biggest and prominent landlord in our barrio. After a month of rest he is now stretching his broad and long arms again, soaking his large muscular legs in the muddy paddies of the rice field. The young man plowed the soil with genuine passion—sweat flowed like a water gushing from a faucet and his stained shirt turned into layers of mud. Julian's perseverance is genuine coupled with his passion and strength. He is an extremely dedicated man, with his long arms and strong fingers he meticulously turned his mechanical tractor on both left and right side to make sure that the soild moisture and softness is suited for replanting. 

But eventhough he is young and strong—Julian is not immune to exhaustion. He sat on a shade beside a banana tree just a few meters away from the field. The young man took a deep sigh and a couple of deep breaths to replenish his strength. There he started to recall his experience last season—it was the early stage of Rice Tarrification Law and was also the time when I first interviewed him.

"It was a very bad season for me, before the advent of Rice Tarrification Law I can garner almost thousands for 36 sacks of rice". He took a deep breath and continued to speak as he opens his water container, "Last cropping season I still managed to get the same percentage of yields which is 36 cavans of palay grains, but the profits I made is not even enough to pay my debts. Ni Hindi nga kumalahati sa dating kinikita ko", he complained.

As we sat beside each other under the shade of a banana tree I managed to ask him again regarding his views on the Rice Tarrification Law. "The law is inhumane, foreign traders amass profits but we local farmers does not." While resting I explained to the young man the goals of the RT Law which is to lessen the Inflation rate of 2018, but he retaliated and intervened saying, "The Inflation can be address in a more efficient way like eradicating or amending the TRAIN Law".

"Our government brags that they already earned approximately 11 billion pesos coming from the tariffs collected this past months, but where's the money?", he asked. "The machines promised never came only to found out in Failon Ngayon that those new machineries was stocked inside the NFA warehouse for almost 3 months", he added.

 

Julian is not like Mang Danny, he expressed his deep grudge against the government and blamed the government for Agricultures downfall. It is expected as he is an educated student from a State University and was a known idealist in our barrio. Right in the middle of our deep conversation I remembered his sentiments last year about joining the Armed Communist Party. He laughed and said "No, I don't wanna die early!".

"Taking up arms will do nothing— there still some times that I think about the idea of arming myself and fighting the government but it's not today, nor tomorrow."

Let's just observe and see what happens next. The consequences of this law will determine what oath should I follow, but today I don't think of joining the armed party, I love my life", he concluded.

It's been exactly 10 months since President Rodrigo Duterte signed and enacted the Rice Tarrification Law. Two cropping season was wasted and 3 million farmers was affected by the unlimited surge of foreign rice, Philippines tops into the list of highest rice importing countries but the promise of Rice Enhancement Fund is still invisible. A new season has arrived again and the guaranteed promise is nowhere to be found. 

"How long will we wait for the promise to be fullfilled?." ~Julian

A dying breed

According to the latest statistics, the numbers of active farmers dropped by 10% this year alone. One of the most common reason is land selling by small farmers. It was the same case that happened to Mark a former farmer on our barrio whom I also interviewed last year alongside Julian for the first part of this feature. He sold his land and switched to business industry. "I left farming because business looks promising; I lost a lot of money just for the production cost. I'm not willing to take a gamble again".

Most farmers started to switch on business and service industry instead of staying in the Agriculture Industry. This is due to the government's lack of initiative to address the Agricultural downfall that took place over the last years. According to NEDA Agriculture fell from 6% to -7% for just 12 months proving that our government has already abandoned Agriculture even before the Rice Tarrification Law was enacted. The numbers of farmers rapidly fell from 4 million into 3 million at late 2018 and still counting. 

The new generation of Filipino youths are not educated on the importance of Agriculture in our society. Most youths choose technology and services related course preferences rather than choosing Agriculture as their first educational choice. 

Kevin Yabot a student of DAT said "I believe there are many students who wanted to take agriculture but the Socio-economic and political setting of our country poses a serious threath on it".

"Agriculture is a promising career if only the government shows support in it. There are too many opportunities that Agriculture offers but that opportunities doesn't exist here in our state you can only find it abroad", he added

"Also the demand for rising technological courses competes with it, if the government aims to beautify Agriculture they should have amended or revised the Rice Tarrification Law".

"If you don't believe me that Agriculture is failing then look at statistics, numbers don't lie" Kevin concluded.

Governments Action

With the farmers worsening conditions our government offered something to lessen the burden of local farmers. Aside from giving incentives and scholarship grants to students taking Agriculture courses to address the lack of farmers, they also prepared loans for farmers affected by the controversial law. Free sacks of rice seeds were distributed where hundreds managed to receive some in San Mateo alone. Mang Danny received a 25 kilo bag of seeds to which he thankful of, "I'm grateful that the government is trying their best to help us."

"Let us trust the words of Malacañang for the meantime and hold on for a little bit" 

Julian said. "If their promise wasn't fullfilled and change never arrive this season I'll sure loose any hopes on this government."

"If this continues many will stand up, organize, mobilize and act using force and intimidation" he concluded.

Its a big question whether this season will be a prosperous season or another failed one.

Pre Germinated palay seedlings uprooted for transfer.
Photo From Mark Anthony Hidalgo, ISU San Mateo's School Publication Photojournalist