Ms. Rebecca R. Faustino of Nalseb of Ambassador Tublay is vying for the National Gawad Saka High Value Crops Farmer Category award.
Being a native of Buguias, she is fully aware of the effects of pesticides to a person’s body because she is a cancer survivor. It is one of the reasons why she exerted effort to follow through her GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) certification to ensure the production of safe and quality vegetables for her family’s consumption and that of potential consumers.
Ms. Faustino is the owner and at the same time the manager of the La Faustino Farm, one of the first PhilGAP registered farms in the Cordillera. She is helped by her husband Lito and their youngest son Rex who was convinced by her mother to work full time in the farm. In cases where more manpower is required, she hires farm workers to help. They produce high value crops such as bell pepper, broccoli, tomato, lettuce, aragula, spinach, and strawberry.
Ms. Jallyne Remoquillo and Ms. Julie Solis from the Department of Agriculture Central Office – High Value Crops and Development Program, and Ms. Flora A. Jarilla and Ms. Lorna Villegas from the Bureau of Plant and Industries – Los Baños composed the validation team that assessed Ms. Rebecca Faustino’s farm. The validation team interviewed and went around the farm to validate the documents submitted to them.
Among the 14 Regions that submitted their entries for the said category, 7 were shortlisted and Mrs. Rebecca Faustino was included as a national finalist. The validation team is in the process of validating the shortlisted finalist up to the end of September of this year. The National Gawad Saka Winners will be proclaimed in October.
“I have been praying for it because I have done my very best not to frustrate the Department of Agriculture and the Municipality of Tublay that are helping me,” Ms. Faustino said during the validation. She added that she wanted to share all the good practices they do in the farm so that other farmers will also enjoy working in their own farms. She encourages other farmers to imitate their good practices so that they will become partners in meeting the demand of the market. She ended by saying that “In farming there is a future.”
The team was assisted by DA-CAR HVCDP Focal Person Joan Bacbac; Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Chief Susan Balanza; APCO Gabriel Pacio of Benguet; Municipal Agriculturist Jeffrey Sotero of Tublay; and Committee on Agriculture Chairman Reynaldo Sotero of Tublay Sangguniang Bayan.** Karen T. Gawigawen
