.::. BAR Chronicle .::. A monthly publication of the Bureau of Agricultural Research

If half of this world’s population is composed of women, then let this half share in the burden of feeding the world.

This is no longer a tall order for women as they had been contributing to farming since time immemorial. The problem was, they had not been as visible as men who always had been at the forefront and they shadowed the women. But not anymore. One example is Eufemia Morandarte of Burocbusoc, Pila, Camarines Sur. There is no shadow that looms before her. She holds her own light in the field of corn farming.

AS THE YOUNGEST in a brood of five, she followed her father as he went to their farms among the hills of Katagan about a kilometer away from Burocbusoc where they finally settled and where most of the 15 hectares of land that she tills are located. Unconsciously, Femi, to family and friends, was developing a love for the soil as she was absorbing and learning how her father did it all, from field preparation to planting the corn seeds then finally selling the golden kernels. Her stock knowledge came in handy when she finally chose to become a farmer instead of a teacher. She has a Certificate in Secretarial Science and a BS degree in Education, a profession she never practiced but somehow can give her prestige knowing that she, too, went to college and provide her an edge over the other farmers when learning a technology. Her college background keeps her feel secure when talking with other professionals.

Her family has been into corn farming for the past 50 years but it was Femi who made the difference when she started increasing her yield of 60 to 70 sacks (60 kg per sack) per hectare every cropping season until she attained an average yield of 125 sacks or 7.5 metric tons per hectare in 1995 when she started planting hybrid corn. How did she do it?

Being innovative and receptive to changes, she became a cooperator in an on-farm research (OFR) project of the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) testing a package of technology that included varietal trial using the open-pollinated variety (OPV), soil amelioration, and the use of trichogramma as biological control for corn borer. Her hands-on experience in this research project served her well as she pursued her destiny as corn farmer. She continues on innovating some of her practices. She uses a combination of commercial and organic fertilizers producing the latter from corncobs and other farm and kitchen wastes. She knows that pest build-up and infestation can be avoided if farmers synchronize their planting so she encouraged her co-farmers to plant all at the same time. She has adopted the use of trichogramma that is available at the DA at a minimal price. She practices detasseling for worm-free and clean cobs.

Femi tills 15 hectares to corn located in Burocbusoc and another 3 hectares to rice located five kilometers away. She maintains 12 farmhands whom she pays P100 each per day excluding snacks with Sunday as the only rest day. She raises two crops of corn on a four months cycle, from land preparation to harvesting, giving the farm a fallow period of two months between croppings. She started selling her corn produce at P7.50 per kilo but now at P9 to P10 per kilo to a trader from Buhi who goes to their place to buy their product. Even by just doing a mental calculation, one knows that Femi earns a lot of money from her farming enterprise.

“You are not only a farmer but an entrepreneur,” I told her.

“I never intended to be one. It was never in my dreams,” she said. “I also spend a lot for my inputs since the plants do not have high yield if not taken care of well,” she bantered.

“If you don’t mind, can you give me a rough estimate of how much you get from corn farming?”

“About P35,000 per hectare,” she mused. “What we earn in the first season all goes to inputs for both seasons so what we earn from the second season is our profit,” she disclosed. She is tilling 15 hectares just for corn, so how much would that be? The amount she estimated is even low considering the present price of a kilo of corn and her average yield per hectare.

“Wow, Femi, that’s a lot of money which you will never earn had you practiced your profession,” I told her. And to think that that is not the only source of her income. She has two big cows as her draft animals (to save on rent for land preparation), raises native chicken and has maintained an 11-span piggery that at the time of the interview was being expanded. She also produces coconut, vegetables, and fruits from her farms.

“There is life in agriculture if only we apply the fruits of researches,” Femi remarked.

HOW IS FEMI as a non-farmer? She is wife to a police officer who works in Albay, mother to two, a girl and a boy aged eight and four, adoptive mother to a teen-ager whom she got when she was only 4 months old, and a bubbly sister to her siblings that include a priest. She is a loyal daughter to her 76-year old widowed mother with whom her family lives with even if they have their new and beautiful house at the approach of Burocbusoc. She uses the paved surroundings of this new house as her drying area and the back portion as her bodega.

She is a shining example to other farmers, ever appreciative of the efforts of government to uplift the life of small people like technical assistance, postharvest facilities and other infrastructures, demonstration projects, and trainings and seminars. She was one time president of a pastoral council and bookkeeper of the Burocbusoc Upland Settlers Multi-Purpose Cooperative.

She is a model in terms of valuing one’s fruits of labor. One does not wonder if in a few months, a student dormitory will rise in Naga City and will charge low rent because this is one of Femi’s investments.

Femi has been nominated for the national outstanding corn farmer award. This will be a feather to her cap. But one thing is sure, Femi is already visible because of her own bright light.