By Anthony A. Araos
Over the next three weeks there is still time for most Filipinos as well as foreign tourists to consider some of Ifugao’s finest organic farms as their destinations this summer vacation. In short, local and foreign tourists need not worry looking for places to visit in search of meaningful adventure and pure fun.
Any traveler in the province must constantly be aware of the fact that Ifugao’s leading industry is agriculture, much like the other 80 provinces in the Philippines.
Even should a local or foreign visitor be interested to exploring particular or specific organic farms in this upland Cordillera province, he or she would probably be confronted with many insurmountable obstacles of choosing such sites for an obvious reason or two.
Each organic farm has its own charm. It is simply understandable to appreciate the essence of an organic farm with an open mind and an unattached heart. The possibilities of learning what planting of crops without the use of pesticides are one too many.
It would be idle to search for a “typical” Ifugao organic farm given the great variability in the details in local political, social and economic life in the countryside. But it is so necessary to look at the village (barangay) scene in Ifugao, for it is certainly among the main sources of national models, given the fact that most Filipinos are born and spend their whole lives in such setting. The organic farms in Aguinaldo, Alfonso Lista, Asipulo, Banaue, Hingyon, Hungduan, Kiangan, Lagawe, Lamut, Mayoyao and Tinoc although not identical in many details can serve to illustrate at least the ground outlines of conditions at this level of the foregoing discussion.
For instance, organic farm owners in the villages of Caba, Cudog and Tungngod (all in Lagawe town) I have visited adopted a righteous attitude in raising the best vegetables (such as tomatoes, cucumbers, string beans and eggplants) and fruit trees (jack fruit, avocado and coconut) in this part of the region.
There is also a small-sized farm lot at barangay Baguinge in Kiangan town where squash and okra are richly grown. This account is based on a personal visit just a few months back.
Experiencing great adventure during a visit to an organic farm is indeed for real.
In many instances did organic farm practitioners and beneficiaries play a significant development role. Surely, it’s time to visit them and learn a lot from them too. The pervasiveness of strong ties among them was demonstrated in another aspect of village life- youth activities. Don’t be surprised most farmers have a number of children.
I have friends and classmates at the University of the Philippines who grew up in farm settings in Albay, Ilocos Sur and Iloilo provinces who later served their communities intermittently in a variety of capacities for many years. They all said that it is still great to live in these rural areas and there is so much fun in organic farms, so much pure fun. So what are you waiting for?
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I don’t want to hide the fact that I’m most tempted to profusely commend some of my well-admired, highly respected friends in the national and provincial levels of the legislature for elevating organic farming, in particular, and agriculture, in general, to greater heights.
It’s time for organic farmers to collaborate with these legislators whose competence, professionalism and integrity have raised the standards of agriculture which is acknowledged and emulated in Ifugao, the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and throughout the Philippines. They are Senator Cynthia Villar, chair of the Senate committee on agriculture and food, for authorship of the landmark Farm Tourism law; party-list Rep. Sharon Garin for sponsoring the law’s counterpart bill at the House of Representatives; former Board Member Samson Atluna of Mayoyao town for penning the equally-important Organic Farming Code of Ifugao; and Board Member James Frederick Dulnuan of Banaue whose dedication to help impoverished farmers is beyond reproach thus, undercutting the poverty problem.
It is my fervent hope and prayer that many others replicate their splendid deeds as a means of pushing all those engaged in the agriculture sector to register profitable growth and significant milestones in the years ahead, while carrying out the task of feeding the nation.
But one need not be a Senator, Governor, Board Member, Mayor or Councilor to extend a helping hand to hapless, cash-strapped farmers. All you have to do is to buy the farmer’s produce. By doing so, you’re even ensuring that the local economy is set to expand more significantly.
Increased infrastructure spending in the agriculture sector is vital.
Empowering the poor farmers as active agents of development is a must-do agenda of the government. Farmers should be a part of the equation in building an inclusive and sustainable economy. There is a pressing need to adopt an integrated approach that combines land reform with modernization and market development. I’m simply wondering why the government is not heeding the call for it to subsidize the farmers’ needs such as fertilizers and seeds.
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At the second district of Ifugao, farmers and residents alike are so fortunate to have charismatic leaders such as Board Members Noli Maguiwe and James Frederick Dulnuan. They ushered in a new era in which this strategic part of Ifugao appeared to be rising above the other part of the province. Their efforts in this regard have contributed in Ifugao’s status as one of the major heirloom rice producers in the region.
They are exerting their very best in transforming the lives of the Filipino people.
For instance, under their leadership, both the statutory and the informal structures in the grassroots level had functioned far more effectively than any other time in history. Small wonder, Board Members Maguiwe and Dulnuan have given astute and effective advices in propelling barangay governments and non-government organizations (NGOs) to take the high roads in attaining progress. They have dedicated themselves in nurturing these entities over the years.
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Public servants are supposed to protect the people at all times.
It’s bad enough that a public order and safety committee (POSC) employee allegedly killed recently a youngster in Lagawe.
Forty-five-year old Michael Dinamling shot to death 14-year-old Ethan Ryo Anselmo Sia during a concert in the capital town.
With authority comes responsibility and accountability given towards achieving good governance in the public sector.
It’s high time to review the guidelines in hiring POSC personnel. Applicants should undergo an examination as well as neuro-psychiatry test. Sadly, POSC positions are filled up based on political affiliation. Alarmingly, POSC units have been viewed as private armies of local executives.
In most fourth-class municipalities like Lagawe, the locality’s biggest problem is still poverty and its concomitant effects like criminality. POSC personnel are mostly poor. They get their jobs out of political payoffs. Those hired as such have to contend with low wages.
At most, peace and order threats are rooted in social and economic problems.
If maintenance of peace and order is not assured at all, investors are not coming to put up their businesses in poor municipalities in the countryside.
When all honest-to-goodness efforts to bring about growth and development in underserved towns are being subverted by the very men and women who in the first place are entrusted to ensure tranquility, then there is a need to abandon the policy of simply saying it’s an isolated case and so it’s business as usual. What if a similar incidence occurs in a few months-time?
A firm stand on public safety and against criminality is the call of the day. Verily, I’m urging Board Member Robert Mangyao (who is the chairman of the committee on public order at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan) to conduct immediately a probe on this matter. This inquiry, in aid of legislation, should intricately look into the circumstances of the incident.
Ifugao is unfortunate in that behind pronouncements of success in the anti-drug campaign and low criminality rate there is little development to stop senseless killings as this one.
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Finally, some thoughts for our readers: “It was my responsibility as president to face the Japanese war lords to come to terms as quickly as possible with the minimum loss of lives. Who is to make the final decision? And that final decision was mine alone to make.” American President Harry Truman in explaining his decision to drop the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.
“In a man-to-man fight the winner is he who has one more round in his magazine.” This is quoted from Nazi German military leader Erwin Rommel.
“The battle for Leyte was a lopsided victory. It is perhaps the greatest defeat in the military annals of the Japanese Army.” General Douglas MacArthur
“Czechoslovakia has ceased to exist.” Adolph Hitler declared after successfully invading this European country on March 25, 1939.**
