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

Vol. 5 No. 6
June 1-30, 2004
From farming back to farming
by Virginia A. Duldulao

Atty. Felix I. Cabataña (with white cap), municipal mayor, Cataingan, Masbate

What distinguishes an individual to be considered successful? Many factors can be cited and surely one of these could spell the difference. In search of a success story in the Bicol Region when I was part of a team that went to evaluate CPAR projects, we identified a female corn farmer. And yes, I had written about her and published the story. But surely there are other players in agriculture who can make this field better and could be considered successful. We came across another without intending to.

After traveling a long narrow but cemented road in Masbate going to the CPAR sites, the group decided to drop by the mayor’s house for the group from BAR to meet him.

“He has been our ardent partner in our programs since he became the mayor. His number one priority is agriculture,” our Masbate technicians told us. What is a few minutes anyway to know what he is doing for agriculture, especially that we needed a strong partnership with the local government units to be on the ground. We conceded and so we stopped at a new and unfenced house. There was a government vehicle ready to start but was only waiting for the most important passenger and there were some people waiting. They were going to visit projects. Yes, but first, he is going to meet us.

Someone got out of the house and instructed the driver to wait. He is the municipal mayor of Cataingan, Masbate– Atty. Felix L. Cabataña. Even at the start of his first term as mayor, he already embarked on agriculture prospects for his municipality.

“The population of Cataingan is predominantly farmers and my vision is to help the majority because they are the ones who really need help,” Mayor Cabataña said. The municipality extended credit to the farmers but alongside this service was the development of credit consciousness among them: what is borrowed is to be paid. There was no limit on giving fertilizers to the farmers but all these were paid for. Again, before the farmers could avail of the fertilizers, they had to undergo training on the proper use. He requires them to have their soil analyzed so that they use the proper kind of fertilizer and application rate. There had to be no trial and error in their use of fertilizer especially that this input is very expensive in that place. (We took a motorized boat to reach Masbate.) Foliar fertilizers were also introduced but the farmers prefer the inorganic ones since they already knew how to use them and had been satisfied with their performance.

With a rugged terrain and a harsh climate for agriculture, it is still worthy to note that the town, even the whole province, could still produce an average of five to six tons per hectare of corn. The farmers found the planting of white corn, the Tinigib variety, more profitable. Mayor Cabataña said that the town is self-sufficient in corn and even has surplus that is sold to other municipalities.

“We have about 100 hectares planted to rice and we grow this side by side with corn. We even tried mungbean but we don’t have the technology,” the mayor remarked.

“It is fulfilling to be a mayor when the constituents give their cooperation. We are an agricultural and third class municipality but I am happy to see that our farmers are satisfied tilling the soil and getting something from their labor. Kung saan ka galling, doon ka din babalik (Where I came from, that is where I shall also go back),” Mayor Cabataña wistfully said.

The 54-year old mayor is the son of farmers who finished his Bachelor of Arts at the University of Southern Philippines and his Bachelor of Laws at the University of Visayas in 1975. He passed the bar exam that same year. He worked at the Department of Agrarian Reform then at the Bureau of Internal Revenue as legal officer. He was assistant provincial fiscal at Masbate City when he resigned to join politics in 1998.

This may not be a success story in the real essence but it can qualify as one if we understand it in the context of how a local government official can make his domain better by going above the odds and be scientific in his approach toward agricultural development.